Chachanski the authorities announced that after a three-day test, the safety and stability of the newly built glass observatory on Kablar, but the local opposition and some experts are not convinced that this is so.
During the three-day technical check, a load was placed on both platforms of the observation deck - a load of 50 tons on the smaller one, and a load of 82 tons on the larger one. Such tests are mandatory for constructions of this type.
"Worst Possible Load Combination" Tested
The media close to the authorities reported the statement of Professor Dr. Daniel Kukaras from the Faculty of Technical Sciences in Novi Sad who reminded that these are constructions where a large number of people are expected to gather.
"They are designed for loads of 500 kilograms per square meter, which means that a test load of about 80 tons means that at one time it can accommodate about 600 people on a small surface, and about 1000 on a large platform," Koukaras said.
He first announced for TV Prva that the construction will be tested "for the worst possible combination of loads and load cases that the designer predicted for this type of construction".
"From that aspect, I don't see any problem at all," said Kukaras.
The checks were carried out by the Center for Constructions doo Subotica and the Concrete Institute doo near Zemun.
The Concrete Institute conducted a test load test according to the standards for this type of test.
The Construction Center reviewed technical documentation, performed a visual inspection of the structure and developed a proposal for the program according to which the test should be performed.
The Concrete Institute is accredited for this test method, and the Center for Structures is a company that deals almost exclusively with diagnostics of the condition of structures and rehabilitation of structures. Their professors have been examining structures for more than 25 years, they reported pro-regime Media.
The Center for Structures from Subotica and the Concrete Institute from Belgrade, as a group of bidders, are the only ones who responded to the advertisement for the load test of the lookout tower on Kablar, and the Čačan government allocated seven million dinars for this work.
Đajić: There is no project of the finished state
However, geologist Zoran Đajić recently said that, as far as he knows, there is no project of the finished state, nor is there a photograph of the foundation pit.
"There is no information about what was done and how it rests in the rock mass. It is the top of Kablar which is crossed by faults. And that is why they did not get a use permit," Đajić told N1.
He also stated that the load test was done by raising water canisters on the canopy.
"And they say that's fine, and the canopy itself will suffer dynamic loads - wind and the movement of people. All of that should have been foreseen through the project," said Đajić.
Photo: Printskrin/Youtube/Dron Studio MIXViewpoint on Kablar
Opposition: Choosing a shortcut instead of a procedure
And local opposition is untrustworthy, so Snežana Trifunović, a member of the Čačan committee of the Party of Freedom and Justice, expressed doubt whether all legal procedures and rules of the profession were followed during the investigation.
She asked why, when it comes to the safety of citizens, "shortcuts are again chosen instead of procedures" and whether the current government is trying to use a weight load test to replace what the law and the profession clearly mandate - static calculations and geotechnical tests.
She also stated that the public is talking about safety, without having previously provided complete, signed and certified technical documentation.
Trifunović asked who made the decision to carry out the test load without project documentation confirmed by authorized experts.
"Are such procedures an attempt to cover up non-compliance with laws and procedures, instead of providing clear and complete answers to the citizens and who will bear the responsibility if it turns out that the weight test was used as a political alibi, and not as part of a full technical control prescribed by law," asked Trifunović.
A controversial tourist venture
The project of the glass observatory on Kablar is one of the most ambitious, but also the most controversial tourism projects in Serbia in recent years. Although envisioned as a world-class attraction, construction has been marred by protests, safety concerns and numerous delays.
The idea of building a modern observation deck on the top of Kablar, modeled after the world's "skywalk" attractions, came from the local authorities in Čačak with the strong support of the Government of Serbia and the Prime Minister at the time, Ana Brnabić.
Intensive works on the top of the mountain began in the fall of 2023, with significant investments from the state budget, which are estimated at around 150 million dinars.
The opening was announced for August 2024, then for August 2025, but each time it was postponed due to technical inspections and incomplete documentation.
At the beginning of March this year, static load testing of the structure began under the supervision of experts from the Faculty of Technical Sciences in Novi Sad.
The construction of the observatory caused deep divisions in the public, focused on three main aspects: ecology, safety and documentation.
Activists and environmental associations strongly opposed the urbanization of the protected area of the Ovčar-Kablar gorge, and there were physical blockades of works and arrests of activists.
Engineers like Zoran Đajić warned about the existence of cracks in the limestone rock on which the viewpoint is anchored. The question arises of the stability of the structure under dynamic loads, such as wind and the movement of people, and the risk of further cracking of the rock.
Media reports indicated that geodetic data was not available for inspections for a long time and that the documentation for the foundations was incomplete at the time when the building itself was already completed.
