WHO WILL BUILD ON THE FOUNDATIONS OF LAWLESSNESS: Zenica's Trg rudara (Miners' Square) as a Monument to Urbicide

Zenica's Trg rudara (Miners' Square) is located a few hundred meters from the headquarters of the Mine and the Stara Jama (Old Pit) facility, as well as the former Rudar Hotel. The hotel was sold long ago, coal is no longer extracted from Stara Jama, and the headquarters will become redundant once the Raspotočje mine is closed. After the closure of the narrow-gauge railway to Sarajevo and the demolition of the small train station, this area remained unused for decades, gradually transforming into a green space with a few small craft and commercial establishments.

Instead of the newly matured trees, so essential for Zenica, and the opportunity to create an appropriate green zone, new buildings will soon "spring up" in their place. The initiative by Zenica's Eko Forum for the City of Zenica to fund the relocation of at least some of the grown trees was in vain.

LAWS ARE SECONDARY

The City of Zenica faces a significant issue, not only with the location of Trg rudara but also with the lack of legally adopted amendments to its regulatory plans. Back in 2019, a Draft Amendment to the “Trg rudara” Regulatory Plan was adopted on the third attempt, but it was rejected by the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Traffic, and Communications of the Zenica-Doboj Canton. This did not stop the city administration—read Mayor Fuad Kasumović—from resubmitting the Proposal for Amendments to the "Trg rudara" Regulatory Plan the following year. The scenario repeated itself: the proposal was rejected twice and then approved on the third attempt, much to the satisfaction of Kasumović and a construction lobby aligned with his interests. 

According to this Regulatory Plan, the construction of five residential-commercial blocks with four underground levels is planned for Trg rudara. The lower blocks will have 2, 4, 6, and 8 floors, while the fifth block could reach up to 31 floors or approximately 100 meters in height. Following a legally questionable procedure, the search for a buyer for the land began. The Zenica-based company "Euro-mont" purchased 6,500 square meters. The price? 

The Commission for Public Procurement Procedures was supposed to report on the sale of the Trg rudara land during a City Council session on July 22, 2021. However, this agenda item was not included in the previously published schedule. There were no details in the materials for the session posted on the City Council's website. In the sixth hour of the session, the agenda item concerning the auction results was finally addressed. The chairperson announced that the city administration's representative was unable to publicly explain the auction results. There were no registered participants for the discussion. Noting that all the information was included in the materials, the chairperson put the report to a vote, and it received unanimous approval. 

No one mentioned the sale price during the session, nor was it disclosed later. In the budget execution reports of the City of Zenica for 2021 and 2022, payments from Euro-mont totaling 1,050,000 KM and 2,984,343 KM were listed, but no details about the basis for these payments were provided.

Just a few days after the City Council session, the municipal inspection demonstrated its ability to act promptly when instructed by the mayor. Demolition began on several small business structures, described as illegally constructed. For those unaware, these structures had been in place for several years. 

There are claims regarding the importance of construction at Trg rudara for Mayor Kasumović, but that will be addressed on another occasion.

WHO IS THE BUYER?

"Euro-mont" Zenica emerged from a company of the same name previously registered in Žepče. According to the court registry, its co-owners are Marko Đuzel (87.5%) and Šefik Smlatić (12.5%), who also serves as the company director. 

The previous owner and director was Janko Đuzel, the founder of the "Đuzel Group". 

 "The Đuzel Group is a Croatian investment in Bosnia and Herzegovina, operating since 2003. The company founder, Janko Đuzel, has lived and worked in Italy for over 20 years. The Đuzel Group encompasses three companies—Đuzel, Arkada, and Euromont—which focus on the wood and metal industries", states a promotional bulletin from the Municipality of Žepče. 

There is no information confirming any familial relationship between Marko and Janko Đuzel. Marko Đuzel is also listed as the owner of two other companies: "WoodenChairs" from Cazin and SAGA from Žepče. The other co-owner, Šefik Smlatić, has a more colorful background. 

In 2011, Smlatić became the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Una-Sana Canton (USK). Prior to this, as a manager at Farmko, a company owned by the Lijanović family, he was involved in a scandal over the suspicious import of chicken meat. As president of the cantonal branch of the People's Party for Work and Progress, he was implicated in vote-buying for the party ahead of the 2010 elections. He later joined the SDA party, running for the position of USK Prime Minister. 

Smlatić also served as an advisor to the former mayor of Bihać, Emdžad Galijašević, who was arrested on corruption charges. Subsequently, he became a bankruptcy administrator, a role he held for some time at Agrokomerc. Smlatić frequently appears as a contact person for various Italian companies and, at one point, acted as a lobbyist for Russian national Oleg Helminski, who sought to build a mini-hydropower plant within the UNA National Park!

The total profit of Euro-mont over the past ten years, according to data from the FIA, is just over 7 million KM. As it has been announced that the estimated value of the construction investment at Miners' Square is around 100 million KM, Žurnal asked the company whether co-investors would be involved.

"Due to the size and complexity of the construction, as well as the cost of the works, the project will be carried out in two phases. The works are divided so that the construction costs are balanced, with both phases costing approximately the same. At this moment, the company's business policy is to finance the entire project from its own sources, and at a certain stage of realization, bank loans will also be used. Co-investors are not planned", Euro-mont responded.

This is not the first announcement of a project by this company in Zenica. Ten years ago, a mixed-use business-residential complex was supposed to be built in the center of Zenica. The investment, initially valued at 10 million KM, is still nowhere to be seen—just an empty plot of land.

"The 'DOM ŠTAMPE' project is currently on hold because it would be too complex to manage two large projects simultaneously", Euro-mont responded to Žurnal.

If the one worth 10 million was large, a logical question is how and when the 100-million investment at Trg rudara will be realized. According to the construction board, the first phase should involve building four lower blocks within five years, which means the construction of the skyscraper has been postponed for at least that long.

The area is fenced off, taking away a significant portion of the sidewalk on both sides of the lot, even for pedestrians.

CATALOG OF THE CONSTRUCTION CARTEL'S PROJECTS

The citizens we spoke with, and those who publicly reacted, are dissatisfied with what Trg rudara will be turned into. Instead of a location that had already formed as a small green zone, it has become part of the trend of construction in the overcrowded central parts of the city, where construction is either planned or already taking place, narrowing down the city park. There are neglected areas near the city center, just a few hundred meters from Trg rudara, that cry out for urbanization.

A group of citizens organized under the “Pokret za preokret” (Movement for Change) has filed criminal charges regarding the unlawfully adopted Regulatory Plans: Trg rudara, the Business-Recreational-Tourist Zone Zenica-South, Center II, Crkvice, Trg Alija Izetbegović, and the Kamberović ravan i padina, based on which many illegal construction permits were issued.

"In these regulatory plans, there is no mention of basic urban parameters regarding construction regulations, schools, kindergartens, fire lanes, clinics, parking lots... which are clearly prescribed by law. These regulatory plans only address the construction of new residential and mixed-use buildings and the legalization of previously constructed buildings for which building permits were issued", explains the leader of the movement, Zenica architect Boris Britvar.

He reminds that the prosecutor's office did not react to the complaints initially, dismissing them, and only after an appeal, reactivated the case. However, knowing how the Zenica prosecutor's office functions when it comes to taking action against "respectable investors", it is hard to believe in a reaction in this case as well.

The chronic post-war lack of ideas from the urban planners in the city administration, not just with Trg rudara, was taken advantage of by the current mayor, Fuad Kasumović. Everything he promised to build in Zenica has not been realized—from several underground parking garages, a new city administration building, a cable car for the Smetovi excursion site, the renovation of the central city square, the "Zenica sjever” (Zenica North) business zone, and a number of other projects. However, one project was realized. Recently, infrastructure works for the "Zenica-jug" (Zenica-South) Business Zone were activated. Through this project, the mayor's wife profited, as she "visionarily" purchased land in the location that was later declared a zone where numerous shopping centers would "sprout".

City management has been reduced to land sales and concessions. The construction of an underground parking garage was entrusted to private companies "previously known to the mayor", with a 30-year usage term and an annual rent of 200,000 KM. More important to him was taking over the parking fees within the hospital area than advocating for the construction of a new hospital building. By the way, the scope of the first parking zone was expanded, and its price is now equal to Sarajevo's.

"The BH Initiative had absolutely no media support, which is why I will completely sever ties with some media. They won’t be able to approach where I work or do anything", said Fuad Kasumović after securing another term as mayor, which promises a lot, while the city and its citizens receive less and less.

Žurnal has unsuccessfully tried to contact the mayor in recent days. Whether we are on the mentioned "blacklist" is unknown to us.

(zurnal.info)