Monday, 21 September 2026
Sarajevo is looking to Doglodi in Ilidža to address one of the main constraints on its future commercial expansion: the limited availability of large sites capable of accommodating major industrial and business investment. A feasibility study has identified the area as the strongest option for a new business district that could significantly increase the capital’s development capacity. Sarajevo Canton currently has 38 industrial and business zones covering around 923 hectares, but much of this supply is already occupied or unsuitable for larger projects.
The Doglodi study examines approximately 148.5 hectares, while the proposed development area is expected to encompass around 130 hectares. Its scale would provide something increasingly difficult to find elsewhere in the canton: a substantial consolidated location capable of accommodating larger investors. The area also benefits from proximity to Sarajevo International Airport, railway infrastructure and important road connections.
At full development, the project could accommodate several thousand jobs, with the study’s highest scenario approaching 9,435 positions. It also estimates the capacity to generate more than BAM 1.2 billion, or approximately €614 million, in private investment. These figures represent the potential economic capacity of the completed district rather than investments already agreed with individual companies.
Turning that potential into functioning commercial property will require substantial expenditure. Development of the zone has been estimated to require around BAM 170 million, equivalent to approximately €87 million. Infrastructure, transport connections, utilities and flood protection will need to be addressed alongside further planning procedures before large parts of the site can realistically be offered to occupiers.
Land ownership could present an even more significant challenge. Around 90% of the relevant area is reported to be state-owned, meaning development cannot necessarily follow a conventional model in which prepared plots are simply sold to private companies. Authorities will therefore need to establish an investment structure that provides businesses with sufficient certainty to finance and develop facilities while remaining compatible with the legal framework governing state property.
Sarajevo’s wider planning framework has meanwhile moved forward. In September 2026, the Canton Government approved the proposed Urban Plan covering the period to 2036 and forwarded it to the Canton Assembly for final consideration. This represents progress compared with the situation earlier in the year, although Doglodi will still require further planning, infrastructure preparation and administrative work before development can proceed on the scale envisaged.
Doglodi’s importance therefore extends beyond the headline size of the proposed zone. Sarajevo’s challenge is not simply to identify undeveloped land, but to create property that investors can finance, build on and occupy within predictable timeframes. If the issues surrounding infrastructure, ownership and development rights can be resolved, Doglodi could provide the capital with a development platform of a scale rarely available in its existing market. Its success will ultimately be measured not by the hectares identified on planning documents or the investment projected by feasibility studies, but by how much of that land becomes genuinely ready for businesses to use.
Source: CIJ.World Research & Analysis Team
