CEKOR visited the settlements of Makis, Rakovice and Mladenovac in mid-February, and while noting some improvements in the quality of life there, also noted a host of unresolved issues.

The bank’s Board of Directors is quoted as saying that the loan is granted “under the condition that the EBRD continues to work with representatives of Serbia and Belgrade on resettlement issues”.

In a strong showing of political advocacy, a delegation from the ‘Public Enterprise Serbian Roads’, the client responsible for construction works at the Gazela bridge, met in London last week with the EBRD to press for a final decision on disbursement of financing for the project.

Rumors that the City’s Secretariat for Social Protection had been acting as a clearinghouse to visitors wishing to speak with the resettled communities proved false late last week, but doubts persist about how information is being communicated among different stakeholders since the resettlement.

In recent days several media outlets have reported that Belgrade Mayor Dragan Đilas said the City is considering declining EBRD money for reconstruction works on the Gazela bridge. But why the sudden fuss over a loan that’s been under appraisal for nearly three and a half years?

The Serbian media is reporting that the Mayor of Belgrade has set a deadline of 15th March for the EIB and EBRD to approve financing for the Gazela Bridge rehabilitation, otherwise the City of Belgrade will look elsewhere for financing.

The Serbian media is today reporting that the Gazela Bridge has been closed to heavy vehicles for safety reasons.

Balkan Insight has today published a worrying article about the situation with the former inhabitants of Gazela who were considered not to be from Belgrade and were transported back to their places of origin.

This report was sent to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, and the City of Belgrade