Osijek’s new promenade longest in this part of Europe

(Photo: Grad Osijek)

Historic connection of Upper and Lower Town of the Croatian city of Osijek with the longest promenade in this part of Europe to be completed by the end of this year

On the occasion of World Water Day, Osijek Mayor Ivan Radić and the Director of Water Management of the Croatian Waters for the Danube and Lower Drava region, Željko Kovačević, visited the works on the historic connection of the Upper and Lower Towns with the longest promenade in this part of Europe.

These are works on the second out of a total of four sections of the project “Development of the right bank of the Drava,” with a total length of 775 meters, at the location of the old Transshipment port.

(Photo: Grad Osijek)

Osijek Mayor Ivan Radić expressed satisfaction with the progress of the works, stating that they are progressing according to the planned schedule and informed that they will be completed this year.

“This year, we will fulfill the dream of generations of Osijek residents, connecting the Upper and Lower Towns with our promenade. The works are worth 13 million euros and are a joint project of the City of Osijek and the Croatian Waters. The second section, as well as the third one which is already open, will have a complete pedestrian and bicycle path, a tree-lined avenue with 160 trees, new public lighting with 64 light poles, benches for resting, bike racks, in short, everything that a promenade we are proud of should have,” said the Mayor.

He reported that about 100 meters of embankment and works on the crown embankment are remaining, while the breakwater is completely finished.

“There is no stopping here; we continue the works through Retfala towards Višnjevac. This is a project that we have diligently prepared for the past two to three years. Everything is already secured, financially and in terms of technical projects, and we will soon present this project together with the Croatian Waters,” he added.

(Photo: Grad Osijek)

Among other projects in water management, he highlighted a wastewater treatment plant worth a staggering 50 million euros, which is soon finishing its trial run.

“Of that amount, 73 percent comes from the European Union funds, 10 percent from the state budget, 10 percent from the Croatian Waters, and seven percent from the City of Osijek and the Čepin Municipality. It is a true small city with 28 independent facilities. Also ongoing is the ‘Osijek 4’ project, worth 21 million euros, which will reconstruct the water supply and sewage network, reducing water losses by as much as 25 percent,” Mayor Radić said.

Željko Kovačević, Director of the Water Management Department of the Croatian Waters for the Danube and Lower Drava region, reminded that the works started in 2019 and emphasized that this year is challenging due to the water level.

“This year is specific because the water level of the Drava River is such that we do not have the classic minimum water levels in January, February, and March; we do not have a real winter, so the snow continuously melts, and we are constantly in the domain of medium or low waters,” Kovačević explained.

(Photo: Grad Osijek)

He also pointed out that works are underway to revitalize the old bed of the Drava River over a length of five kilometers, involving digging out the old riverbed to the level in Josipovac.

“We will connect to the mouth of the old bed of the Drava River near the bridge on the western bypass. This revitalization will accompany the project of developing city-type embankments and promenades to Višnjevac. The value of this project is around 4.5 million euros, financed by the European Union funds and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. We expect the works to be completed by the end of 2025. We will completely change the city’s landscape and improve the quality of life in Osijek, and most importantly, protect citizens from floods,” concluded Kovačević.

March 22 is World Water Day, which emphasizes the value of water and raises awareness of the global water crisis. This year’s theme for World Water Day is ‘Water for Peace.’

(Photo: Grad Osijek)

“Given that the theme of this year’s World Water Day is peace because water connects, I am pleased that this year we will fulfill the century-old dream of the people of Osijek, which is to connect the Lower and Upper Towns with a promenade,” Mayor Radić concluded.