Atlas and facility registry for investors in Kraljevo - City prepares land on the site Industrial Zone-Sports Airport

(Kraljevo)

In order to present in more details brownfield locations on the territory of Kraljevo to potential investors, people in that city have started making a General Regulation Plan for the area Industrial Zone - Sports Airport. The Plan is part of the project Improvement of Land Management on the Level of Local Governments in Serbia, which covers 13 local governments and is technically supported by GIZ, Ambero Consulting and Icon Institut.

- We contribute to the project with a General Regulation Plan for the industrial zone. The entire zone spans 360 hectares, and the Plan also covers a part of the Western Morava river. There are many construction sites for investors in that zone - Dragana Bikic, an urbanist from the Kraljevo Planning and Development Directorate, says in a talk with eKapija.

Our interlocutor stresses that a number of successful companies, such as Amiga, Nelt, Jasen and others, have opened factories and warehouses in that zone.

- The zone is well-positioned. It is situated only 15 kilometers away from Ladjevci airport, in the vicinity of the future Pojate-Preljina highway and a sports airport that also holds a license to handle international charter flights.

According to this project, Kraljevo should use new instruments in the planning process, such as a feasibility study, facility registry and an atlas showing the purpose of all areas. These novelties will contribute to making urban plans clearer and more accessible to citizens and potential investors, while the local government will be able to use them as a brochure promoting local economic development.

- The previous feasibility study, which we have not used in urban planning so far, was designed by Germany`s PHF. Colleagues from Germany kept asking us about deadlines for the completion of a section of E-761 highway route through our city because that road is crucial for better positioning of Kraljevo. Analyzing the data from that study, we`ve realized that Kraljevo is not interesting to foreign investors at the moment. Also, the study shows that we have a bigger potential to attract domestic investors than foreign ones. There is a need for the expansion of companies that currently operate within the zone, so we should enable them to expand to greenfield locations.

Bikic says that the industrial zone includes greenfield sites spanning between 20 and 30 hectares and having no infrastructure, but there are indications that this area will be soon ready for future investors.

- Brownfield locations are Railway Car Factory and Magnohrom, which occupy a large area. The new instruments we are using in the planning process recommend that these facilities be divided into smaller ones and then offered to investors. However, we cannot resolve this issue on the level of local government because these companies are in the jurisdiction of the Privatization Agency - our interlocutor explains.

The Kraljevo Planning and Development Directorate is in charge of the design of a facility registry and an atlas of sites.

- We have never done anything similar to these documents. Facility registry is very useful, not so much for the profession as for the local government and potential investors. It is a database containing information about every facility and land lot: how it looks like, what its purpose is, when it was built, etc. Based on that brochure, every investor gains an insight into available locations and facilities. Also, we are working on an atlas showing the purpose of each area in Kraljevo.

A novelty is that the Kraljevo Planning and Development Directorate has involved all interested businessmen and citizens in this project.

- We have invited businessmen to join the project, keeping them up to date with each our step and cooperation with Germans. We've wanted to hear their wishes and needs, which is something that has never been done before in urbanism - says Dragana Bikic from the Kraljevo Planning and Development Directorate.

S.O.