Cooperation between Belgrade and Florence started in 2001 with the project “City to City”. Special emphasis was on development of partnership between the City Planning Institute of Belgrade and the University in Florence, the capital city of beautiful Toscana. Joint teams expressed the greatest interest in landscapes, and that is how the pilot project related to use of the Sava and the Danube and precious city coastal area was launched, which also represented the beginning of the story about Belgrade’s future island Čaplja on Banat’s/left bank of the Danube.
Namely, the Belgrade General Plan anticipates construction of a new island on the Danube, which can be achieved through construction of a big canal between Military Garden and the Pančevo Bridge. According to the plan, tourist facilities and facilities for sport and recreation should be built at the precious space of 582 ha. There would also be a junction that would connect the island with the Zrenjanin road, as well as a pier for passenger ships, yachts and boats. Construction of golf course on the other side of the dike, in the location between Kotež and Borča, at the surface of 100 ha, is also in the pipeline.
According to the General Plan, construction of marinas and piers, ship-restaurants, platforms on water for recreational activities and pile dwellings will be allowed.
The territory of Čaplja is now owned by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Waterpower Engineering, and it is currently used for scientific purposes, growing of poplars and wood-processing activities.
We are impatiently waiting for the city planners’ next steps.
You can find much more details and read the comments given by Italian and Serbian experts on this Belgrade’s pearl on http://www.urbel.com/documents/info24-25_tema.pdf (Serbian, English and Italian versions)