The Modern Cities Programme is making good progress, and more than HUF 600 billion has already been paid in grants as part of it, the minister without portfolio for the development of county-ranked cities said at his press conference held in Budapest on Tuesday.

Lajos Kósa said that they had concluded agreements with 23 county-ranked cities. The programme includes almost 250 projects and developments worth slightly over HUF 3,500 billion, he said, observing that various project elements to the value of more than HUF 600 billion have already been realised.

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In the minister’s words, government resolutions have already been adopted with respect to 60 projects out of the 250 in total. He added at the same time that it is not necessary to adopt a government resolution on every project as there are some issues on which the ministries concerned may decide. There are 20 projects which mostly concern extensive road network developments; the goal is to connect all county-ranked cities to the network of express roads and motorways, and as part of this, railway modernisation projects will also be implemented. Regarding all of these projects, preparations are already ongoing or the actual works are already under way. Committee decisions have been adopted on another 75 projects, and these projects – financed from local or EU grants – have already been launched.

City leaders asked for adjustments to 50 projects compared with the original agreements. In the case of these further discussions will have to be held, and the construction works have not yet begun. Mr Kósa remarked he told the Association of County-Ranked Cities that the Government is flexible regarding developments, and they should indicate if they believe any changes are required.

Preparations for the remaining 45 projects are under way, and regarding these neither governmental, nor committee decisions have been adopted yet, the minister said. These are mainly projects in Szeged, Hódmezővásárhely, Győr and Salgótarján as the agreements with these cities were only concluded last year.

He stressed that in light of the fact that the Modern Cities Programme will have to be completed by 2022, the programme is making good progress pro rata.

The minister also said that he will set out on a country tour together with his two state secretaries. In answer to a question, he said that they will begin the tour in Debrecen and Nyíregyháza on Monday. They will visit all 23 cities several times by April as they would like to make sure that the programme is running smoothly, in light of the fact that the Government’s mandate will end in April, he added.

He pointed out that formerly consultations were held in such a way that mayors went to visit the various ministries. On this occasion, however, representatives of the ministries will visit the cities concerned, and they would also like to attend the general assemblies of these municipalities wherever possible in order to inform councillors about the status of their projects directly.

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Mr Kósa said, in his view, the programme has been received most favourably. Upon its completion, they would be happy to say that it had been Hungary’s largest provincial development programme up to that point in time which fundamentally focused on the 23 county-ranked cities. They would like to conclude that it was a successful programme and helped to realise the concept which seeks to enable the settlements concerned “to keep up with the times”, to boost provincial Hungary with their population retaining capacity and economic and cultural performance, and to contribute to its closer integration, he stressed.

The minister said in answer to a question that some HUF 157 billion will be allocated to the City of Hódmezővásárhely. At the same time, more than HUF 80 billion of this sum will be provided for the tram train project which is a project shared with the City of Szeged. HUF 4 billion has been disbursed to the city to date.

Asked whether funds would still be paid to the city if a person other than current Deputy Mayor Zoltán Hegedűs, a candidate of Fidesz and KDNP, were elected as mayor, Mr Kósa highlighted that funds are also provided for Szeged and Salgótarján despite the fact that they have socialist mayors. At the same time, he encouraged everyone to support Zoltán Hegedűs’s candidacy, stressing that people should vote for him because he is a good leader and an honest man, in contrast to the independent candidate who has been proved in just a week to be “a liar” on several important issues.

One journalist suggested that there are tensions, for instance, in Szeged. The minister said in reply that they will also visit Szeged, and in his view, they will be able to resolve the existing conflicts.

Regarding the 50 projects to which city leaders are seeking adjustments, he highlighted in answer to a question that the adjustments relate to content. For instance, in one place there was a plan for the erection of a stone museum, but now they would prefer to build a community centre.

He indicated that there are also engineering debates, for instance, regarding the best water proofing solution. The technical contents of many of the 250 projects have been changed significantly.

The expenditures of some projects have increased, while those of others have decreased. At this point in time, it is possible to conclude that possible price rises may increase the total allocation of HUF 3,500 billion by less than HUF 150 billion, but this is only “a working number”. Mr Kósa observed that when adopting decisions on the individual projects, the relevant operating expenditures must also be taken into consideration. It is very much relevant what they are building as it will have to be maintained and operated afterwards.

The minister said that the passenger traffic of Debrecen Airport may increase to one million, and when this number sets in, it will be necessary to build a new terminal.

HUF 82 billion will be paid in grants this year, but this sum is related to commitments carried forward from 2017. Additionally, they are able to make commitments in relation to another HUF 40 to 80 billion pro rata up to April 2018.

Mr Kósa stressed that to date they had only revoked decisions as part of the Modern Cities Programme in such a way that the revocation did not relate to the termination of the project, but to a change in the person to implement the project.

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The minister said they have every reason to be proud of the passage of the law related to students’ cooperatives, and is pleased that they could also take a step forward in the direction of pensioners’ cooperatives.

Regarding the subsidised pig farm which was cited in connection with his family, Mr Kósa said: “My mother is no one’s straw man”. His parents have been farming for more than twenty-five years, he added.

(MTI)