ZAGREB, September 3, 2019 – The City of Zagreb on Tuesday released a Memorandum of Understanding concluded with the Eagle Hills Properties company regarding the “City within the City” project which Mayor Milan Bandić described as a response to recent pressure, announcing that a public debate on amendments to the General Urban Plan (GUP) would be held at the end of October.
The memorandum was officially made public on the City of Zagreb’s website ahead of a meeting of the City Assembly on Wednesday which is expected to discuss this issue.
Mayor Bandić signed the non-binding memorandum on 12 March this year and addressing a press conference today, he said that the memorandum was published as a response to all the pressure because “it is difficult to withstand pressure.”
He announced that a final proposal for changes to the GUP would be put on the agenda for the next City Assembly meeting schedule for late October.
The leader of the GLAS opposition party, Anka Mrak-Taritaš, on Tuesday cited a few reasons why Mayor Milan Bandić should abandon his plan to repurpose the location of the Zagreb Trade Fair and the Hipodrom racecourse in order to allow the construction of a high rise complex, dubbed “Zagreb’s Manhattan” project.
Mrak-Taritaš urged the mayor not to touch Zagreb’s “green lungs” on the banks of the River Sava, describing the location as “a small green enclave” in the city.
In the context of climate change, she underscored that it would never cross anyone’s mind in urban centres worldwide to turn their existing green spaces into construction sites, except for Zagreb’s mayor who is planning to repurpose the city’s green space.
Furthermore, the existing infrastructure and water and sewage system cannot meet the current needs of that part of the city, she told a news conference, explaining that residents of the Novi Zagreb suburbs are often left without water supplies.
Mrak-Taritaš said that there were other locations in Zagreb that were more suitable for Bandić’s plan for Zagreb’s Manhattan project.
More Zagreb news can be found in the Lifestyle section.
