Building Directorate of Serbia to start construction of energy-efficient buildings in Belgrade in 2008

Two buildings in Block 29, each on surface of about 18,500 square meters, will be the first energy-efficient buildings in Belgrade. Construction of these buildings will be started by the Building Directorate of Serbia in spring 2008 as a pilot project that should prove that huge energy saving could be achieved with not too large investments.

Modern insulation materials and high-quality windows and doors will be used for construction of these buildings and they will enable smaller dispersion of energy. Once finished, apartments will be offered on the market.

Belgrade annually spends 135 kWh of energy per square meter. Energy-saving buildings reduce that consumption to less than 50 kWh per square meter. In the world, so-called "passive houses" that maximally save energy spend only 15 kWh per square meter.

- Our biggest task in this field is to make existing housing fund in Serbia - 2.7m housing units - as much energy-efficient as possible. Investment of only 30 EUR per square meter can result in saving of up to 60% of energy - said MA Dejan Vasović, Manager of the Building Directorate of Serbia, at the expert meeting in the City Planning Institute of Belgrade.

According to his words, one of the buildings will realize additional energy saving because it will use hot subterranean water, renewable energy source, for heating.

Belgrade, and Serbia in general, waste energy. World energy sources are disappearing and price of energy is rising. Serbia, as Vasović says, spends billions of euros annually on import of fuels and it produces energy for the same amount of money. Savings in apartment construction, through good insulation, bring large benefit to the state and its citizens.