Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Mayor of Érd András T. Mészáros (Fidesz-KDNP) have agreed on a development programme worth HUF 40 billion on Friday in Érd, where they signed a cooperation agreement on Friday as part of the Modern Cities Programme.
The development programme will include, amongst others, the establishment of a 200 hectare industrial park, the construction of a police office, a school, a kindergarten and a sports centre, the opening of a court and a prosecutor’s office in Érd and the creation of a vocational training centre in the city, the Prime Minister said. He has also spoke about the possible construction of a bicycle path and invited the municipal council to exploit the opportunities provided by the River Danube.
Mr. Orbán announced that the State will provide the industrial park, to be bought by the Government, for a 99-year lease to the city free of charge. Furthermore, a vocational training centre will be established in the city and the heart of the education management system – the Klebelsberg Institution Management Centre – will also be moved to Érd. Additionally, a state-owned former military base will be converted into a leisure park and presented to the city.
A new secondary school, as well as a kindergarten, an elementary school with 24 classrooms and sport centres will be built from central budget funds, in addition to which the Batthyány Sport School will also be renovated and extended, the Prime Minister said.
He pointed out that the restructuring of education infrastructure and the kindergarten system, and the establishing of new sports facilities and the renovation of the city’s existing ones, will result in the creation of a healthier settlement structure, thanks to which Érd will present the image of an organically constructed city. According to the Prime Minister, the necessary funding will be allocated once the plans are finalised.
Mr. Orbán explained that the Modern Cities Programme had only been launched this year, because during the period between 2010 and 2014 Hungary’s primary task had been crisis management. During the previous government cycle, the question was “will we have any resources left after mobilising our forces to avoid the Greek trajectory”, the Prime Minister said.
He pointed out that during the previous cycle, Érd has achieved results “that are not to be neglected”: the municipality was able to provide HUF 30 billion (EUR 95.5m) for the modernisation of the sewage system, spend HUF 1.7 billion on operational support during the course of 2.5-3 years, and resolve the issue of the sports hall.
Mr. Orbán stated that between 2015 and 2020, the task will not be crisis management, but the implementation of a development programme in Hungary. This is the programme of civic consolidation: the task is to ensure a civil quality and security of life for as many Hungarians as possible.
The Prime Minister also said that Érd is not in an easy situation, because a significant portion of development resources come from EU funding, and since settlements in Pest County belong to the same development region as Budapest, it is very difficult for them to access EU funding, because the capital increases the development level average.
This problem must be solved, and so resources for the development of the city must be provided from the central budget, he said.
The Prime Minister also noted that since the city was founded, this is probably the largest amount of development funding it has ever had available for a five-year period.
In response to a question, he said one of the reasons the 2016 budget had been planned with a significant reserve was to secure enough financial leeway for agreements concluded as part of the Modern Cities Programme.
Mr. Orbán also said that the Mayor believes the industrial park, which will also be registered on the list of the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency, will be fully populated within one and a half to two years.
Mayor András T. Mészáros said that the agreement provides a secure foundation for Érd’s development. The city of about 70.000 inhabitants “is not finished yet”; its population has grown extremely rapidly and the city was unable to develop significantly during previous regimes.
He stressed that the city’s local economy, its education, health and social institutions and public services network would all be developed by means of the agreement, in addition to which the city’s public utilities network would also be expanded.
In closing, the Mayor said that the solidarity and confidence of the local population was required to achieve these results, and he also thanked Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for the Government’s support.
(Prime Minister's Office/MTI)
