Skopje is getting a city beach on the Vardar embankment - a project announced back in February, in the section near Madzir Maalo. The idea sounds appealing: a tidy, safe and accessible spot for recreation by the river, to the urban standards European cities have.

Mayor Orce Gjorgjievski announced new urban furnishings on the embankment - benches and trash bins are already in place - and sports facilities in Madzir Maalo, with the message that the city government is responding to citizens' demands. It sounds good on paper, like most announcements of this kind.

But there's one "but": the beach most likely won't be ready for this summer. Announced in February, by June there's still no concrete completion deadline, which leaves open the question of whether it will be up and running this season or only the next. And it's well known how that goes around here - "announced in February, finished some summer."

The question isn't whether a city beach on the Vardar is a good idea - obviously it is. The question is whether the Vardar, into which wastewater has been flowing for decades, is even a river you'd want to lie down beside on a beach. Before thinking about loungers and parasols, maybe it's worth cleaning the water itself first. Otherwise the "city beach" will be just another pretty announcement by a river everyone avoids.