“2016 will see the beginning of 1100 billion forints (EUR 3.5bn) of investment in transport throughout Hungary, 670 billion (EUR 2.1bn) of which will already be spent in 2016”, László Tasó announced.
The development of some 300 kilometres of road and 370 kilometres of railway will begin next year at a cost of 520 billion forints (EUR 1.65bn) and 600 billion forints (EUR 1.9bn), respectively, the Ministry of National Development’s Minister of State for Transport Policy stated at the annual progress press conference on Tuesday, 29 December 2015 in Budapest.
Mr. Tasó recalled that the government was planning to spend HUF 2600 to 2800 billion (EUR 8.2-8.9bn) on transport development by 2020.
The transport sector had an outstanding year
According to the assessment of the Minister of State, the transport sector had an outstanding year in 2015. The drawdown of the transport investments budget of approximately HUF 2 100 billion available for the 2007 2013 EU planning period is expected to be 100 percent, he emphasised.
Some 853 kilometres of new road has been constructed and more than 2800 kilometres of road has been renewed using both domestic and EU funding since 2007, Mr. Tasó summarised. 63 kilometres of new motorway were delivered in 2015, including the section of the M43 between Makó and the national border and the section of the M85 between Győr and Csorna. Some 70 kilometres of bypass roads have been completed, such as in Győr, Kecskemét, Mórahalom and Nyíregyháza. Almost 300 kilometres of main road surface has been reinforced.
The Minister of State stressed that the first phase of the South Balaton renovation project, designed to improve the approach to Lake Balaton by rail, was completed last year and work on the second phase has already begun. The modernisation of the railway line up to Püspökladány has been completed and is continuing up to the Debrecen-Apafa stations.
Of the various station renovation projects, Mr. Tasó mentioned the investments in Vác, Pilisvörösvár, Solymár and Füzesabony and also the fact that the modernisation of Székesfehérvár railway station may be realised as a large project. The Minister of State emphasised that the Community transport system would continue to operate with unchanged fares.
Mr. Tasó also reminded the press that a ten-year agreement on track operation had been concluded with the two Hungarian railway companies last week. The government decision ensuring the maintenance of public roads by determining steadily increasing budget allocations has also been published, he added.
The Minister of State recalled that the European Commission had adopted the Integrated Transport Development Operational Programme in February. The invitations to tender were published by the deadline and there is no obstacle to commencing work at full speed in 2016, he said.
Many public procurement procedures for investments to be implemented from both domestic and EU funding had been successfully launched at the end of October, he added.
(Ministry of National Development/MTI)
