Around 800 residents and some twenty companies from the Anton Popov 1 complex in Skopje are demanding an urgent meeting with the City of Skopje. The reason is the excavation for the underground roadway on the South Boulevard, due to begin on 5 August.

The fears they list are concrete: restricted access for vehicles and emergency services, deep excavation immediately next to the buildings' foundations, and a question nobody has answered for them so far - what happens to the structural stability of the buildings.

"How many tragedies and accidents have to happen before we learn that citizens' safety comes first?" the residents ask.

There was a meeting, there was no follow-up

On 20 July, a meeting was held with representatives of the City of Skopje. According to the residents, the officials were surprised when they saw the actual situation on the ground - which is itself a data point about how well this project was planned.

A new meeting was promised, along with delivery of the project documentation. Neither arrived.

What the residents are asking for is not a halt to the project. They want a detailed geotechnical report, an official survey of the buildings' current condition before work starts, and a clear answer on who assumes liability if damage appears. That is standard construction practice, not an activist demand.

One sentence of theirs hits the point better than any analysis: "Verbal assurances that 'there will be no problem' are not enough. In engineering, a guarantee is not a statement - it rests on analyses, designs and expert inspections."

The problem they describe is visible even before the digging starts: they do not have adequate road access even for cars, let alone for an ambulance or a fire engine.

Five days until the excavator

If the documentation exists, delivering a copy to the residents is one working day's work. If the analysis has been done, showing it is easier still. And if neither exists five days before work begins - then the residents' fears are not fear, but an accurate assessment.

The residents are announcing protests if they do not receive formal answers. It seems that even in 2026, the only way a citizen gets a document he is entitled to anyway is to go out into the street.