New Belgrade with three-star hotels, shopping centers and office space on 93,000 square meters - What will commercial complex in Block 42 comprise?

Is it normal to have the main bus station for domestic and international arrivals located in the city center, that river banks are undeveloped, and that one of the oldest part of the capital city is caving in under the burden of freight traffic? Implementation of the Belgrade on Water project that has already caused numerous controversies is about to start. As people at Serbian Railways said, interest in the tender for Prokop reconstruction is huge, and a competition for the best preliminary designs for bus and railway station and business complex in Block 42 in New Belgrade was announced yesterday.

The aim of this competition is to make use of a public-opinion poll to select the best urban and architectural designs for the new traffic terminal in the central zone of New Belgrade, as well as to prepare a comprehensive land-use plan to create conditions for the relocation of the existing bus station and the construction of new one, the regeneration and construction of the railway station Novi Beograd (New Belgrade), and the construction of business and commercial facilities in Block 42.

Relocation of railway infrastructure and the train station Beograd from the Sava Amphitheater was called for by general plans dating back to as early as the 1960s. According to strategic plans for city development, the railway along the edge of the city core and the Sava River is planned to be used with its capacity reduced, primarily for the purpose of passenger traffic and tourism.

As President of the Temporary Body of Belgrade Sinisa Mali said last week, the ongoing first phase of the Belgrade on Water project that includes the construction of tower, shopping center and two more buildings will be followed by the second phase that will see the completion of the railway station Prokop and the marshalling yard Zemun and the relocation of the intercity bus station.

Mali announced that the documentation for the relocation of the Belgrade Bus Station (BAS) to a new location near the outdoor shopping center in New Belgrade should be completed by mid-2015, adding that the place to move the popular flea market to was still being sought.

Business zone - Block 42

Block 42 is partially located in the city subsection Novobeogradski blokovi (New Belgrade blocks) which, as a part of New Belgrade, represents a special functional unit. It is defined by Djordja Stanojevica Street, Jurija Gagarina Street, Proleterske Solidarnosti Street and Milutina Milankovic Boulevard. Railway tracks physically divide this area into two parts.

The plan is to build a commercial and business complex in this block, which can either be functionally connected with or completely separated from the building of the bus and railway station Novi Beograd.

This complex can be made up of one or more facilities and together with the station building it can cover a maximum surface area of 180,000 square meters. Block 42 is the only location in Belgrade where it is conditionally allowed to build facilities up to 150 meters tall.

This commercial and business complex should also comprise a shopping center of 30,000 square meters and three-star hotels of the same size. The maximum surface area that can be occupied by supermarkets in this part of New Belgrade is 6,000 square meters. Office space and business suites within the complex should occupy an area of about 93,000 square metrrs.

It is a well-known fact that Block 42 has favorable hydrogeological characteristics, so it is possible to use subterranean waters as renewable energy sources to heat future buildings in this area.

If you want to find out how the future bus and railway station Novi Beograd should look like, read our article titled "Novi Beograd bus and railway station to handle 2,500 passengers per hour - What will relocation of traffic terminals from city center bring?"