At a press conference in Miskolc Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced that the development of the Miskolctapolca spa and of Diósgyőr Castle will be continued, and that an industrial zone of one thousand hectares will be established in the Borsod County seat.
The press conference marked the fact that the Prime Minister and Mayor of Miskolc Ákos Kriza (Fidesz-KDNP) had signed a cooperation agreement as part of the Modern Cities programme.
Mr. Orbán said that they had successfully concluded negotiations and he pointed out that the agreement with Miskolc is backed by the country’s general economic development.
The Mayor explained that the agreement between the Government and the local government of Miskolc has five pillars. The actions highlighted include the following: reinforcing the “Miskolc-Kassa economic axis” by constructing the Hungarian section of a motorway between the two cities; implementing the second development phase of the spa in Miskolctapolca; completing reconstruction of Diósgyőr Castle; establishing a new industrial zone; continuing the digital programme already launched; strengthening innovation; and expanding dual education.
Mr. Kriza stressed that everything promised in last year’s elections is being realised in Miskolc and “today as well, we have committed ourselves to projects that we can definitely implement”.
The Prime Minister recalled that the situation Hungary found itself in five years ago was one “in which we could easily have found ourselves ‘in Greece’; we started from that condition and have succeeded in coming as far as being able to sign such an agreement”.
He pointed out that the Government will sign similar cooperation agreements with all twenty-three county-level municipalities.
Talking about the details of the agreement with Miskolc, the Prime Minister said that the Miskolc-Kassa Euroregion has approximately one million inhabitants, and construction of the motorway between the two cities has been long awaited. The section from Kassa to the Hungarian border has already been built, and now work must start on the section from Miskolc. According to the plans, the government-funded HUF 150 billion project will be finished by 2018–2019, he said.
Mr. Orbán announced that the Government is also supporting the city in the establishment of a time- and cost-effective system for running the city; this will give local people cheaper and faster access to municipal services. “Miskolc is a model city in the Government’s programme”, the Prime Minister stressed. He went on to say that the city’s intelligent CCTV system will also be expanded: 150 cameras are currently in operation, and this number will be increased to 500 or 600, as public safety is a priority.
Mr. Orbán noted that the Government is providing significant support for the establishment of the new 1 000-hectare industrial zone, which will be one of the largest in the country. Many companies can be based in the new industrial centre, thus creating thousands of new jobs and again making full employment in Miskolc achievable, Mr. Orbán added.
Turning to the Miskolctapolca development, the Prime Minister said that the first phase of the spa investment had received HUF 3 billion from the Government, and a further HUF 5 billion will be allocated to further development.
The reconstruction of Diósgyőr Castle and related developments will also continue; the state will provide HUF 4.5 billion of the total development cost of HUF 6 billion, the Prime Minister said.
In his concluding remarks, Mr. Orbán stressed that the goal in this government cycle is to enable everyone to take a step forward, and these projects in Miskolc and elsewhere in the country are indeed significant steps.
(MTI/Prime Minister's Office)
