Vesic: From 2028, All Projects in Serbia in BIM Technology

From January 1, 2028, all projects in Serbia will have to be designed in BIM technology, the minister of construction, transport and infrastructure of Serbia, Goran Vesic, announced today.

At the opening of the “BIM and Infrastructure” conference at the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia (CCIS), at which the implementation of BIM technologies in infrastructure projects is being presented through practical examples, Vesic said that one of the reasons why that postponed deadline for the implementation of these technologies had been given was that design studios could prepare and procure the necessary equipment.

– When we were adopting the amendments to the Law on Planning and Construction, the most revolutionary change in that law pertained to BIM, the digital methodology, that is, the green building technology. When we were adopting all this, we tried to be ahead of others, but of course, there is that EU directive on public agreements, which envisaged that all participants in the public sector have to use the BIM technology – Vesic emphasized.

He said that the equipment necessary for the BIM methodology was not cheap and that, because of that, there were negotiations with the CCIS about incentives that could be created from the next year, so that those who wanted to procure the technology could get it.

– This is a big change in Serbia and that is why that postponed deadline was provided. BIM technology is becoming a legal obligation, so from 2028, we won’t be able to choose whether to work with it or not, but instead simply be obligated to work that way – the minister emphasized.

Vesic also announced that the amendments to the Law on Planning and Construction would give a bigger role to design studios in the next period.

– Our idea is to transfer building permits up to a certain number of square meters, through public advertising, to design studios – as well as to also transfer the exploitation permits to those who now do technical acceptance based on public advertising – he said.

As he added, that would take the load off the secretariats, that is, those who issue building permits.

Vesic also explained that BIM technology was important because another law was to be adopted, namely, the Law on Infrastructure Maintenance, in the next period.

– We are preparing this law and with it, for the first time, we will have some kind of a Serbian cadaster, that is, a real register of the entire infrastructure – Vesic said.

According to him, through this law, the managers of each infrastructural facility will be defined, regardless of whether it’s a bridge, underpass, overpass, road, substation, that is, everything that counts as infrastructure.

– There will also be the legal obligation to set aside a certain percentage from the budget for maintenance and we will thereby prevent much bigger costs during the reconstructions which we have, because each structure needs to be maintained – Vesic said.

The minister also emphasized that the BIM technology would enable easier maintenance, because, as he explained, through that digitization, absolutely everything that is important for the maintenance of infrastructure is visible. He also said that the Prokop station, that is, the station building which had been completed not long before, was also done in BIM technology, and that the subway would be entirely done in that technology.

The director of the Sector for Strategic Analyses, Services and Internationalization at the CCIS, Mihailo Vesovic, said that the construction industry, in the preceding years, had made a great impact on the economic growth of Serbia and added that construction was extremely sensitive to all the disturbances that had happened in the global market.

– I am aware of how much, in the past years, the increase in the prices, inputs and the inflation in general have caused every company which does construction to fight to stay competitive and manage to complete a project and make a profit – he said.

According to Vesovic, it is precisely the BIM technology, i.e., the new trend in digitization and construction industry, that is one of the tools of the future which has proven globally to be the most practical one, also increasing the competitiveness of every company. He reminded that, for a long time, the CCIS had been trying, together with the Government of Serbia, to promote the topic of digitization as a priority in creating competitiveness and strengthening companies.

The president of the BIM Serbia Association, Veljko Janjic, announced that, officially, all the internationally recognized certificates of international standards from the beginning of the next year for this technology would be able to be available in Serbian.

Vlada Republike Srbije

Ministarstvo građevinarstva, saobraćaja i infrastrukture Republike Srbije

Privredna komora Srbije

BIM Srbija

European Union

Government of Serbia

Ministry of Construction Transport and Infrastructure

Chamber of Commerce of Serbia

CCIS

BIM Serbia Association

Goran Vesic

Mihailo Vesovic

Veljko Janjic

Belgrade Center Rail Station

Prokop

BIM technology

Law on Planning and Construction

Law on Infrastructure Maintenance

infrastructure projects

design studios

green construction

public sector

incentives

building permits

infrastructure register

reconstructions

digitization

construction industry

inflation

competitiveness