Photo: Promo
The state is changing legal acts in construction in order to "legalize" works for the Expo under an accelerated procedure. For example - to put facilities into operation without a use permit
Special law for the construction of facilities for the purposes of the exhibition EXPO, the Government of Serbia adopted in October 2024, and at the last session, changes to this lex specialis were adopted due to - short deadlines.
There are three key changes.
The first one refers to enabling the issuance of construction permits without consent on environmental impact assessment.
The second is that the building permit will not have to be obtained for the construction of the entire building, but will be able to be obtained for individual parts of the same building.
The third allows temporary facilities that are not provided for in the spatial plan to be put into operation temporarily without a use permit.
EXPO ahead of existing laws
As stated in the analysis of the effects, the reason for making changes to the lex specialis is the short deadlines, which the state is in a hurry to meet, especially when it comes to issuing permits, writes Ekapija.
"Taking into account the deadlines set in accordance with the international legal obligations of the Republic of Serbia as the host of the international specialized exhibition EXPO Belgrade 2027, it was determined that the solutions of the existing law are not the most expedient in the context of the timely realization of those obligations, especially in the field of construction of facilities and infrastructure. Namely, there was a need to introduce a more efficient regime for obtaining the necessary permits and other necessary documentation so that all facilities and infrastructure would be built before the start of the international specialized exhibition EXPO Belgrade 2027, bearing in mind that this is a specific way of building facilities that are different functions," states the impact analysis.
The international specialized exhibition EXPO will be held in Belgrade from May 15 to August 15, 2027.
All buildings, as previously announced by the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, must be completed on December 1, 2026, because then Serbia must give the keys to the participants of that international exhibition who need to move into the premises.
Temporary use
Amendments to the law provide that facilities within the Spatial Plan, as well as facilities not included in the Spatial Plan, and whose function is the implementation of the EXPO project, can be put into operation "for temporary use", with the issuance of a positive report by the Commission for Technical Review, writes Ekapija.
As stated, these facilities are temporarily put into operation and used for a period of 24 months, and the investor is obliged to obtain a use permit during that time period.
"The above solution differs from the solution in the law governing planning and construction, since these facilities represent pavilions for participants of the international specialized exhibition, which are of a temporary nature and will be removed after the end of the exhibition in order to build permanent buildings on that site." and for which it will be necessary to obtain a decision on the use permit in accordance with the law governing planning and construction," the explanation states.
Also, the Bill foresees that the Ministry issues a temporary construction permit for the installation and removal of pavilions for participants, while the execution of works under a temporary construction permit can only begin after the issuance of a positive report by the Commission for Technical Inspection on the temporary commissioning of facilities.
The government regulates in more detail the conditions, method and procedure for temporary use, i.e. putting facilities into operation, as well as rules for setting up and removing pavilions for participants.
Building permit without an environmental impact study
Article 8 of the Law was also amended, which now states that for buildings that have been determined to be subject to an environmental impact assessment study, it is prescribed that the authority responsible for issuing a decision on a construction permit can issue a decision on a construction permit and a work report without consent to the impact assessment study, with a statement from the responsible designer that the attached documentation complies with environmental protection measures and conditions.
The consent of the competent authority to the environmental impact assessment study is submitted with the request for issuing a decision on the use permit.
Construction permits by stages
The proposed amendments to the law also refer to the issuance of construction permits.
Until now, obtaining construction permits was divided into two phases - the first one related to the foundations of the building, and the second to the rest.
Amendments to the law made it possible to issue building permits for individual parts of the building during the second phase of construction, which includes the final works on the building, provided that these works can be carried out independently of the rest of the construction.
For each such stage, appropriate documentation must be attached to the permit application.
"For the facility as a whole, the building permit is issued in accordance with the law governing the planning and construction of facilities," the document says.
The justification for such a change is given in the form of a definition that it is due to the "complexity of the facilities and the technology of the works".
The new provisions will not only apply to high-rise buildings, but to everything in the complex, writes Forbes Serbia.
Facades in cities and a special company
Considering that the activities related to the exhibition will take place in several locations, there was a need for the local self-governments to organize the spaces where these activities will take place. The draft law stipulates that the renovation of building facades in certain urban zones is carried out in accordance with this law and the regulations that regulate the construction, housing and maintenance of buildings.
The local self-government makes a decision on which buildings will be included in this renovation.
It is added that the renovation of the facades "serves the purpose of protecting and preserving the cultural, historical and social features of cities and improving the tourism potential of local self-governments, which can have positive financial effects on both local self-government and the Republic of Serbia."
Also, the amendments to the law stipulate that the investor can entrust the management of parts of the EXPO complex to a special company or a special purpose company.
The members of the republican parliament should give their opinion on the bill.
Source: Ekapija/Forbes Serbia
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