Beyond the EXPO 2027 Site

Belgrade EXPO 2027 operates through a deliberately complex organisational structure that combines multiple terminologies, legal frameworks, and financial mechanisms. This complexity obscures transparency and enables construction projects across Serbia to be bundled under the EXPO umbrella, far beyond the actual exhibition site.

Despite extensive research, it remains unclear which projects are genuinely part of Belgrade EXPO 2027 and which are simply exploiting its legal framework.

• (In)visible Mechanisms of (Mis)use of Public Resources: The EXPO Belgrade 2027 Project
• There is no going back, only forward – the only thing standing in the way is the public interest (EXPO 2027)

Mechanisms of Expansion

Multiple overlapping and undefined terms are used interchangeably without clear distinctions.

These terms vary dramatically in scale, from the BIE-regulated 25 hectares for the three-month exhibition to 33 ha, 83 ha, 243 ha, 373 ha, or officials claiming “all of Serbia is EXPO“. This makes it impossible to determine the project’s actual scope, costs, or which infrastructure investments are genuinely related to the exhibition versus exploiting its legal framework.

This ambiguity is not accidental. As researchers point out in “(In)visible Mechanisms of (Mis)use of Public Resources: The EXPO Belgrade 2027 Project”: “The terminological confusion surrounding the Belgrade EXPO 2027 project is neither insignificant nor coincidental, it has directly affected the ability to understand the project’s scope, jurisdiction, and how it is planned and managed.“

About some central terms:

• The project “Belgrade EXPO 2027”, defined by Serbia’s 2023 Special Procedures Law, allows the government to designate any project nationwide as EXPO-related without prescribed criteria. Designated projects receive expedited procedures: reduced public consultation (15 vs. 45 days), procurement thresholds increased 8-12 times, and eliminated appeals. The law has no geographic limits, no end date, and no cap on project phases.

This creates systemic discrimination in the construction industry and planning processes, with no defined limits on the law’s geographic scope or duration, as the number of project phases remains unspecified.

(In)visible Mechanisms of (Mis)use of Public Resources: The EXPO Belgrade 2027 Project

• The “Jump into the Future—Serbia EXPO 2027” investment plan links over 100 projects across Serbia to a 17.8 billion euros program covering infrastructure, energy, agriculture, health, and tourism. President Vučić announced it in January 2024, but it officially does not exist. When Transparency Serbia requested information, the government stated it is not a policy document, no state administration drafted it, and no employees or collaborators were involved in its creation.

Despite its non-existence, this program has become the basis for redesigning national fiscal strategies and budgets. The government is implementing a program that cannot be read and whose creation process is unknown.

(In)visible Mechanisms of (Mis)use of Public Resources: The EXPO Belgrade 2027 Project

• BIE Secretary General Dimitri Kerkentzes publicly contradicted Finance Minister Siniša Mali’s claims by stating he cannot and will not defend linking 18 billion euros in other infrastructure investments to the Expo exhibition,insisting the exhibition should stand alone and cost only 1-1.3 billion euros. He emphasised that BIE investigates every corruption allegation and is not there to “whitewash the government’s image,” but rather to ensure technical safety standards are met.

Fiscal Questions

The Fiscal Council has criticised this “planning in motion” approach, warning that the project diverts resources from essential areas like healthcare and the Belgrade metro while relying on unrealistic growth projections and excessive borrowing, with concerns about return on investment.

• Politics of public investments: Analysis and advice for possible improvement (in Serbian)

• Public investment at 7% of GDP is “exceptionally high” and identified EXPO and National Stadium as the two largest drivers of the 2024 budget deficit increase (from 2.2% to 2.9% of GDP).
• Fiscal Council: Interest payments on government borrowing rose 700 million euros in two years (105bn to 185bn dinars, 2022-2024). The Council warned that “unfavourable terms currently associated with government borrowing amplify the risks” of fiscal expansion.
• State repurchasing previously privatised land at up to 100x the original sale price, a textbook public-to-private extraction.

A total of nine cadastral parcels of agricultural land in Surčin were transferred from the former PKB Corporation (Serbia’s largest agricultural conglomerate), the part remaining after privatisation, to the state, free of charge, for the purpose of building the National Stadium. In addition, another 633 parcels worth 1.9 billion dinars were “extracted” from this company, which has been called the Agro-Industrial Corporation since April 2021. The data is available in the new report of the State Audit Institution.

Predicted Costs

Fiscal strategy of the strategic projects accepted for 2026 has been recently changed. In the revised version, the costs have significantly increased. This includes EXPO costs.

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