October the 10th, 2022 - The brand new Zagreb waste disposal rules came into force at the very beginning of this month, which saw the introduction of brand new blue bags called ''ZG vrecice/bags'' and which have been the subject of a fair few jokes. The move by mayor Tomislav Tomasevic was made in an attempt to finally tackle the capital's dire issues with waste disposal and collection, encourage people to separate their waste and recycle, and only see people pay for the amount they actually discard. It sounds great on paper, but some are still less than satisfied.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the stomach-turning stench from Zagreb's Jakusevec site is a clear reminder to Novi Zagreb residents that the somewhat infamous city landfill is still very much in function. The site receives tonnes of municipal waste on a daily basis, but it also seems to be organic waste being dumped there that is causing a particularly vile smell. We're all still waiting for the city authorities to announce a concrete plan for closing this outdated landfill, and until then, so many people are left wondering about precisely how justified the new Zagreb waste disposal rules are, reports HRT.

Having to close their windows due to the unpleasant odors that spread from Zagreb's Jakusevec landfill has become quite normal for the tenants of the Novi Zagreb settlements. The former councilwoman from Dugave, Mirela Mikic Muha, claims that the stench is stronger because the procedure for covering the waste with soil is not being properly followed.

"Now it's being driven from the early hours of the morning, as far as I know, from around 05:30, until late into the evening, 22:00, 23:00... I don't know when they can cover it with earth and it stinks because they're no longer adhering to the conditions that they had scheduled in the environmental permit," claimed Mikic Muha.

Residents on the other side of the Sava river are also noticing that the stench is much stronger than it used to be, Most of them have already gotten used to it, but the question is how long this will actually go on for, because people throw away all sorts of things.

"It smells terrible, but it's the worst in the morning," said Mira.

One of the Jakusevec residents' associations claim that everything isn't being done according to regulations. The reason for the increased stench, they claim, lies in the fact that Cistoca disposes of bio-waste in a place where it isn't allowed to do so. Even back in June, they filmed vehicles bringing the waste, and then reported everything to the environmental protection inspection. At this rate of waste delivery, the landfill will soon be full, they claim.

"I'm afraid that in three years, the people of Zagreb will be littering Ban Jelacic Square. I blame the state inspectorate, that is, the environmental protection inspection. They didn't react to several of our reports as they should have," said Ratko Bedekovic, president of the Jakusevec Environmental Protection Association. Accusations that the law is being violated and that bio-waste is getting dumped on the hill due to the undercapacity of the composting facility, are being vehemently rejected by the City of Zagreb.

"Only mixed municipal waste is disposed of at the Jakusevec landfill - so this isn't true," claimed Dinka Zivalj, spokeswoman for the mayor of Zagreb, Tomislav Tomasevic.

A statement from the City of Zagreb also said that 175,000 tonnes of mixed waste were disposed of last year, and the compost plant processed 35,000 tonnes of bio-waste. With this new Zagreb waste disposal model, these numbers will gradually decrease, which is also a condition for closing the landfill entirely.

"I expect that the amount of waste going to the Jakusevec site will decrease because people are separating their waste more and this is an important step in closing the landfill," said spokeswoman Dinka Zivalj.

In order to close it completely, it is necessary to build facilities, among which is a sorting plant owned by the city, but as things stand, the mayor's promise that everything will be done by the end of the mandate now seems almost impossible.

For more, make sure to keep up with our dedicated news section.

May the 7th, 2021 - There will be no ZET trams running in Novi Zagreb over the weekends from the 8th until the 30th of May due to continuing works. A new bus line will be introduced to make up for the temporarily suspended tram services.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, due to the continuation of works on the renovation of Zagreb's famous Most Mladosti (Youth Bridge), traffic in the form of ZET trams in Novi Zagreb will be suspended on weekends (meaning more precisely on Saturdays and Sundays) from May the 8th to May the 30th, and a new bus line (607) will be introduced to make up for the missing trams which would usually be running as normal along those routes, ZET reported on its website on Thursday.

This new bus line will run along the following route: Savski most (Sava bridge) - Avenija Dubrovnik (Dubrovnik Avenue) - Drziceva (Marin Drzic Avenue) - Ulica grada Vukovara (Vukovar street).

The bus will turn in a semicircle at the intersection of Drziceva and Ulica grada Vukovara, and the entry-exit stop will be in Drziceva (near Diona) they have stated from ZET.

During the works on Most Mladosti, ZET trams, more precisely the lines 6, 7 and 14 will operate along the changed routes.

Line 6: Crnomerec - Trg bana Josipa Jelacica (Ban Jelacic square) - Glavni kolodvor (Main train station) - Autobusni kolodvor (Bus station) - Heinzelova - Zitnjak.

Line 7: Dubec - Autobusni kolodvor (Bus station) - Ulica grada Vukovara (Vukovar street) - Savski most (Sava bridge).

Line 14: Mihaljevac - Trg bana Josipa Jelacica (Ban Jelacic square) - Frankopanska (Frankopan street) - Savska cesta (Sava road) - Savski most (Sava bridge).

Instead of the tram of the night line 31, a bus will be introduced, reported ZET, which has also asked and thanked people in advanced for their understanding as the Most Mladosti works continue throughout the month of May.

For all you need to know about Zagreb in 2021, make sure to bookmark Total Croatia's Zagreb in a Page and choose your preferred language.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Sergej Novosel Vuckovic writes on the 20th of May, 2020, Zagreb's popular Zabac Food Outlet is expanding its business despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. On its Facebook profile, Zabac announced that it was set to open its fourth low price food store, the first in Novi Zagreb. It will be located in space in Travno, on the ground floor of the so-called Mamutice, otherwise the largest residential buildings in Zagreb and in Croatia.

"The store is set to open on July the 1st, 2020, is located at 9 Božidar Magovac street, it will cover about 400 square metres and will have fifteen employees," the owner of Zabac Food Outlet, Mario Zamboki, told Poslovni Dnevnik.

This move across the Sava river was long-awaited, with the opening of each previous Zabac Food Outlet, the number of inquiries from customers about when they will open up at new locations grew, so the announcement of Novi Zagreb's new Zabac store gained a lot of positive comments and "likes".

It is a message that clearly says that the concept of selling food at prices reduced by up to 50-90 percent when compared to the same kind of goods sold in "normal" stores is a complete hit. The question now is; will the first Zabac Food Outlet south of the Sava river be the only new one to open its doors, or are some in other Croatian cities planned?

"It's possible that there will be more, and we're considering opening stores in other larger cities," Zamboki revealed.

He and his wife Maja opened the first Zabac Food Outlet, which covered about 30 square metres, back in August 2016 at the beginning of Tkalciceva not far from Ban Jelacic Square in the very centre of Zagreb. The next was in the spring of 2017 on Tresnjevka, on the corner of Tratinska and Nova cesta, very close to the market, and it was the largest so far, covering about 300 square metres. This was followed by another in the Importanne Centre back in November 2018, and the one in Nemciceva near Nama on Kvaternikov trg (square), which covers 170 square metres, opened back in September last year, when the first, smallest Zabac store the centre of the city was closed.

The Zambokis based their concept on the intention of selling groceries in three categories - foods that are nearing their expiry date, items that are slightly damaged, and surplus items, providing customers with goods at better prices, and at the same time preventing food waste, because surpluses from factories and shops often end up simply being thrown away, which represents a global problem.

In addition to food (sweets, meat and meat products, milk and dairy products, drinks, fresh fruits and vegetables…), the range also includes cleaning and personal hygiene products, and even some clothes, most of which are sold at almost ridiculously low prices. As an idea and business model, Zsbac Food Outlet has been recognised globally, back in the summer of 2018 it received the Euromonitor award for new retail concepts, placing itself among competition from 80 countries, next to the huge Chinese online store, Alibaba.

However, the mini-retail chain has not remained ''immune'' to the consequences of restricting the operation of stores in recent months, which was introduced quickly as a measure to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. Zamboki admitted that they too, like many others, had supply problems, and that during that period, customers mostly bought things with long shelf lives. Zabac Food Outlet also witnessed the queues in front of its shops.

"They were mainly supplied with good with long shelf lives, such as pasta, canned foods, and dried meat products," explained the owner of Zabac.

As all shops were only allowed to operate until 17:00 in the aforementioned period of about a month and a half, Zamboki also opened on Sundays, but it turned out that such a practice would only last until then. It is now still open Monday to Saturday.

''Our position is for stores to be closed on Sundays, because it isn't the same thing to have a day off on Sunday or a day off during the rest of the week. We hope that the shops will be closed permanently on Sundays ", Zamboki stated, clearly not trying to disguise his views, revealing that everything had been going perfectly well until the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in Croatia in mid-March.

''Then, our turnover dropped by 70 percent and now it is slowly returning, but it's unlikely to return to how it was before for this year,” he added.

Due to the drastic decline in business, his company was forced to ask the CES for state support for the preservation of jobs, as Zabac Food Outlet has a total of 45 employees, including people with special needs.

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As Novac/Korlana Sutlic writes on the 26th of February, 2019, Središće, a popular neighbourhood in Novi Zagreb often referred to as Bundek, in reference to the well-frequented Zagreb lake and park, has recently gained the status of the most desirable neighbourhood in Novi Zagreb. By reaching this level of popularity, when looking at the demand for flats, it is now ranked alongside Vrbani III, Trešnjevka and Trnje.

The very first jump in demand for quality apartments in Središće came after Bundek park was done up and after RIT Croatia (Rochester Institute of Technology Croatia) was opened in the area, and then the demand grew a bit more after the completion of the American International School in Zagreb (AISZ) just several months ago.

The popularity of the neighbourhood has also contributed to the birth of the recent construction of some new residential buildings, which are part of the Središće area. The biggest demand is for smaller quality three-bedroom and smaller four-room apartments, ranging between 60 and 90 square metres in size, the price of which is not greater than 200,000 euros. The market prices are high, some even reaching up to 3,000 euros for a well-equipped apartment.

The Središće area of Novi Zagreb boasts a great many amenities and ease of access to them. Along with the American Educational Institution and Bundek park, it is located near the Avenue Mall, the neighbourhood is also home to the Museum of Contemporary Art near the Hippodrome, and even has a hypermarket. One of Croatia's best private kindergartens is located at Bundek Centre, and it's also worth mentioning that Središće's close proximity to the very heart of Zagreb is something else that earns the area brownie points.

''All this contributes to its value,'' says Boro Vujović, the director of the Operta property agency.

Even the very name Središće speaks volumes to Croatian speakers, for non-Croatian speakers, the name indicates that it is centrally positioned in Novi Zagreb, while only Mladosti bridge (Most mladosti) and the river separate it from the wider city centre, according to Sergio Serdarušić, the director of Eurovila agency.

''The growth of demand for Bundek began a few years ago when the Zagrebačka banka built Bundek Centre. The recent arrival of the aforementioned American school has of course further influenced the popularity of the neighbourhood itself. Središće is fortunate in that it is positioned next to Bundek lake, which is one of the major reasons for its popularity. Just like on the other side lie Western neighborhoods such as Vrbani III made a big leap forward [in terms of popularity], something similar is happening here. Novi Zagreb itself is beautifully planned out building-wise, but there's no room for new buildings, while over here afew new construction sites have been opened in this area, which is also a plus for the market,'' added Serdarušić.

In addition, the area of Središće is exceptionally well connected with roads and by public transport to Zagreb's city centre, Franjo Tudjman Airport and the A1 motorway. Quite recently, the construction of a public elementary school began, which will also be a plus for the area.

''Each new piece of content additionally enhances an area. There's already a lot of interesting content [in Središće], including those things which are needed for everyday life, such as shops, banks, services, restaurants, cafes...'' noted Serdarušić.

The price of new builds over the past few years has increased from 1.600 to 2.400 euros per square metre. The price depends on the microlocation, the quality of the building, the location of the apartment within the building itself, its degree of decoration, the floor and of course its overall layout. However, as they say from the previously mentioned Eurovilla agency, some of the smaller apartments can also come with rather impressive price tags up to 3,000 euros per square metre.

However, as Središće doesn't actually have enough luxury and large apartments for diplomats who would like to live near the American school, many remained in Šalata, where this institution was previously located. The demand is bigger than the offer, and Središće is currently the most expensive quarter in Novi Zagreb when it comes to prices per square metre, but they're now at their very peak.

"We had a case a few years ago in Bundek Centre, after the apartments were sold at 1.600 euros per square metre, just a couple of months later, one apartment in that same building was sold for almost double the price per square metre because the buyer was urgently seeking property close to the American high school.

But these are the exceptions, although that building is now managing to keep hold of a high price. In Bundek's new buildings, square metres were being sold for around 2,300 euros. Now apartments in some older buildings in the area have jumped in price, and sellers are looking for 2,000 euros per square metre for the best ones, some of them even offer well-equipped apartments in newer buildings for 3,000 euros per square metre,'' said Boro Vujović, adding that he believed that this trend would eventually level itself out come summertime when people start moving into the large new Meander building, which is now sold out. He believes that this will lower the deficit.

Those particularly interested in this part of Novi Zagreb on the other side of the Sava river, he adds, are US Embassy staff, and now there are American education institutions conveniently located there, too.

The apartments in Središće are also being claimed by employees of companies located in Novi Zagreb. In the long run, there is a chance, however slight, that the fall of its popularity could occur if the quarter becomes too built up, because there are currently several unbuilt areas, in which many construction companies are interested.

''Središće already has a traffic problem upon entering the area when coming from the city centre via the bridge. That needs to be better resolved. I don't think the additional construction will have a negative impact on its popularity, but it's better to have air in the neighbourhood. The recently constructed buildings have a wide access road and, in general terms, in this area, Novi Zagreb is very well designed and should not be over-built,'' concluded Eurovilla's Serdarušić.

Make sure to stay up to date with more on Croatian property by following our dedicated lifestyle page. If it's just Zagreb you're interested in, give Total Zagreb a follow.

Click here for the original article by Korana Sutlic for Novac/Jutarnji

Some excellent Zagreb news in the works for Novi Zagreb as a brand new mega project carrying a massive billion euro price tag is announced on no less than Christmas morning.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 25th of December, 2018, on a cold and crisp Christmas morning in the Croatian capital city, Milan Bandić, the long-standing mayor of Zagreb, announced some very welcome Zagreb news to his fellow citizens, detailing everything the city is set to gain, all of which has been planned to be built in 2019.

To accompany the already cheerful Christmas spirit, Mayor Milan Bandić announced and further detailed the beginning of some of the the most important projects for next year set to take place in Croatia's increasingly popular capital city.

"We'll bring the [works taking place on] the roundabout to an end as soon as possible, as well as the Jarun bridge, because the roundabout without that bridge is like soup without any salt in it, we're going design a rail link to the airport, a congress centre, and in some fifteen to twenty days, we will finally begin work and stick the spade in the ground for a new cable car for Sljeme'', the mayor readily announced.

In addition to these already welcome announcements, the mayor went on to detail yet more Zagreb news - a huge billion-euro mega project for which the City of Zagreb is actively seeking a foreign partner. The giant project in question is the total redesigning of the popular Zagreb Fair (Zagrebački Velesajam), at which numerous events are regularly held, according to a report from RTL.

"If this comes to fruition, Novi Zagreb will become a city within a city, and Zagreb will be much more beautiful," Mayor Bandić concluded.

Make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated lifestyle and news pages for much more. If it's just Croatia's capital you're interested in, make sure to follow Total Zagreb for everything you need to know about what's going on in Zagreb, from cultural events and live performances to the latest political scandals.

You'll be waiting a lot longer than usual for a tram in Novi Zagreb as of next week...

All three projects have met the same fate: the residents are against them, and some have already begun collecting signatures for a petition to stop their construction.

Zapruđe residents will not have access to hot water due to maintenance works.

The Institution for Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment for Persons with Disabilities (URIHO) in Zagreb currently employs 522 workers, out of which 62% have some kind of disability or intellectual disability. The roughly 500 employees have a contract of work or collective agreement, while around 300 visitors to the URIHO join creative workshops and other programs.