# Linglong granted permit despite hazardous chemicals Category: Land, water and workers Period: from Oct 2020 Outcome: No one investigated (as of 31 May 2021) On 30 December 2025, the Provincial Secretariat for Energy, Construction and Transport authorised the use of mixers and storage for raw materials, sulphur and carbon black at the Linglong tyre factory near Zrenjanin without consent for protection against major chemical accidents, an investigation by Radio Free Europe has shown. Only then, two and a half years after production began, did Linglong report that it stores hazardous chemicals with a risk of a major accident, which is why the City of Zrenjanin had been refusing it use permits. Whether the Ministry of Environmental Protection has given its consent is not known, and the factory is operating. ## Permit without "Seveso" approval In December 2025, Linglong was entered in the register of upper-tier Seveso establishments and submitted a safety report to the Ministry of Environmental Protection, even though in its environmental impact studies it had claimed it would store hazardous chemicals only in negligible quantities. The City of Zrenjanin therefore rejected all its applications for use permits, saying it was waiting for the Ministry's consent. The day after the city's first rejection, the Provincial Secretariat for Energy, Construction and Transport authorised the use of the factory's highest-risk sections; according to RFE, the decision does not mention the Seveso status. The Secretariat gave no reasons for its decision and, despite an order from the Commissioner, refused to release the technical inspection report, citing trade secrets. ## Construction without permits In 2021, a provincial building inspector ordered part of the construction site closed, specifically the raw material and sulphur storage, the carbon black facility and the raw material mixing facility, and the Secretariat rejected Linglong's application for a building permit for those facilities. RERI (2020) and Civic Turnaround (2021) filed criminal complaints over construction without a permit; their outcome is not known. According to RFE, production began in May 2023 in trial operation, before an occupancy permit had been issued, and the factory obtained a permit for its waste storage facility only in June 2024. ## Impact assessment annulled In May 2024, acting on a lawsuit by RERI and Civic Turnaround, the Administrative Court annulled the approval that the Zrenjanin City Administration had given in 2020 to Linglong's impact assessment study for its production plants. In January 2025, when the factory was already operating, the city gave its approval again and found that the project does not threaten the environment. Civic Turnaround has challenged that decision before the Administrative Court. ## Air and water Air emissions are measured by the company itself, which submits reports to the city; according to these, permitted limits have not been exceeded, but the city has no automatic monitoring station near the factory. According to a document from the public water company Vode Vojvodine, the Begej has been rated as class V water (poor), with more poor parameters downstream of Linglong's discharge point than upstream. In October 2026, residents reported a strong smell and smoke coming from the direction of the factory; the cause has not been established. In May 2026, MP Sonja Pernat requested documentation on the factory's safety, and the provincial authorities referred her to the city. ## Workers at the factory The case of the Vietnamese and Bangladeshi workers at the same factory is a separate affair: Vietnamese workers at the Linglong factory in Zrenjanin. ## Participants - [Linglong International Europe LLC, Zrenjanin](https://odgovornost.rs/en/organizacije/linglong): It built parts of the factory without a permit, so an inspector closed part of the construction site, and it did not report hazardous chemicals until 2025. (responsible) - [Provincial Secretariat for Energy, Construction and Transport (AP Vojvodina)](https://odgovornost.rs/en/organizacije/pokrajinski-sekretarijat-energetika): Authorised the use of mixers and storage for raw materials, sulphur and carbon black without consent for protection against major chemical accidents (responsible) - [City of Zrenjanin](https://odgovornost.rs/en/organizacije/grad-zrenjanin): It gave consent to Linglong's impact assessment study, which the Administrative Court annulled, and then gave it again when the factory was already operating (responsible) - [Ministry of Environmental Protection](https://odgovornost.rs/en/organizacije/ministarstvo-zastite-zivotne-sredine): Is due to decide whether to approve Linglong's safety report, submitted in December 2025; did not tell RFE/RL how far it has got (oversight and the public) - [Administrative Court](https://odgovornost.rs/en/organizacije/upravni-sud): In 2024 annulled the city's approval of Linglong's environmental impact assessment study (investigation and courts) - [Provincial Secretariat for Urban Planning and Environmental Protection (AP Vojvodina)](https://odgovornost.rs/en/organizacije/pokrajinski-sekretarijat-urbanizam): In 2024 annulled the city's decision on Linglong's waste storage facility, and referred an MP seeking documentation to the city (oversight and the public) - [Renewables and Environmental Regulatory Institute (RERI)](https://odgovornost.rs/en/organizacije/reri): Reported Linglong's construction without a permit to prosecutors and challenged the environmental approvals before the Administrative Court (oversight and the public) - [Građanski preokret](https://odgovornost.rs/en/organizacije/gradjanski-preokret): Filed a criminal complaint over Linglong's construction without a permit and sued the city over the environmental approvals (oversight and the public) - [Sonja Pernat](https://odgovornost.rs/en/osobe/sonja-pernat): Asked institutions for documentation on the safety of Linglong's factory and the expansion of its zone (oversight and the public) ## Sources - [Radio Slobodna Evropa: Chinese tyre factory Linglong in Serbia granted permit despite hazardous chemicals](): 25 May 2026 - [Zrenjaninski: Chinese tyre maker Linglong submits safety report](): 15 Dec 2025 - [Radio Slobodna Evropa: Serbian tyre factory opened while already running, pollution reports unavailable](): 13 Sep 2024 - [N1: RERI: Criminal complaint against Linglong and related companies](): 5 Nov 2020 - [N1: Secretariat confirms: Linglong's building permit application rejected](): 13 May 2021 - [Balkan Green Energy News: Građanski preokret files criminal complaints against Linglong over illegal construction of tyre factory](): 31 May 2021 - [N1: RERI: Linglong issued building permit based on annulled impact assessment decision](): 18 Jun 2024 - [Zrenjaninski: After more than four years, the city issues its decision: „Linglong does not endanger the environment“](): 31 Jan 2025 - [N1: RERI asks inspectors to ban operation of Linglong's plants in Zrenjanin](): 24 Dec 2024 - [021.rs: New proceedings against Linglong and Zrenjanin](): 28 Mar 2025 - [Danas: Linglong claims it operates lawfully in Zrenjanin, activists don't believe it](): 6 Aug 2022 - [Volim Zrenjanin: Sonja Pernat seeks answers on Linglong: Provincial Secretariat refers documentation request to Zrenjanin city administration](): 31 May 2026 - [Zrenjaninski: MP warns: Citizens have the right to know what risk Linglong poses](): 31 May 2026 - [Volim Zrenjanin: Residents report a strong smell near Linglong; our reporter visited the site](): 18 Oct 2026 --- Source: Odgovornost, https://odgovornost.rs/en/afere/linglong-dozvole-hemikalije As of: 5 Nov 2026 Licence: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)