Prime Minister Viktor Orbán agreed on a development programme, which also includes the upgrading of the M70 express road, on Tuesday in Nagykanizsa.
After having signed a cooperation agreement with Mayor Sándor Dénes (Fidesz-KDNP) within the framework of the Modern Cities Programme, the Prime Minister highlighted: as part of the development programme, a new industrial area will be created in the city, the M70 express road leading to the Slovenian border will be upgraded to two lanes on each side of traffic by 2018, and the first phase of the road that bypasses Nagykanizsa will also be built.
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Additionally, a multifunctional sports and event hall accommodating around three thousand people will also be erected, along with a 50-metre indoor swimming pool, Mr Orbán informed the press.
The Prime Minister stated: they also agreed on a development programme for the Mura Region which includes, inter alia, the construction of a network of bicycle paths.
After the conclusion of the cooperation agreement signed in the presence of János Lázár, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office, local county and town leaders, Members of Parliament and members of the business community, the Prime Minister reiterated: between 2010 and 2014, development funds worth HUF 15.6 billion were channelled to the city, and the Nagykanizsa Dorottya Hospital was refurbished from an allocation of HUF 3.2 billion which, thanks to this development, has become one of the best hospitals not only in the county but also in the whole of Hungary.
Mr Orbán stressed: they agreed with the Mayor of the city on long-term cooperation “in the spirit of reliability and long-term planning”.
The Prime Minister also pointed out that, by the Mayor’s account, unemployment is the city’s greatest problem, and the parties therefore sought to sign an agreement, “every aspect of which somehow contributes to the creation of new jobs, as this is the number one situation to be resolved”. They also agreed, he added, that they will jointly set the goal, “the same as in the whole of Hungary, that there should be full employment also in Nagykanizsa by the end of the current electoral cycle”.
“The Hungarian Government is willing to invest money in creating a new industrial site in Nagykanizsa because Nagykanizsa has an economic programme which opens up new prospects for investments in the industrial park here”, Mr Orbán said, adding that the final plan is to create a 500-hectare industrial park which will be implemented in several stages on the outskirts of the city.
As the Prime Minister reported, the parties also agreed that the M70 express road leading to Slovenia will be upgraded to two lanes on each side of traffic by 2018. Mr Orbán told the press that the road that is designed to bypass the city will cost six billion forints and will be implemented in two phases according to plans. The first phase of the project will cost HUF 4.5 billion; this is what the Government is able to pledge, and it will be implemented by the next elections.
As regards the multifunctional sports and event hall accommodating some 3,000 spectators and the 50-metre indoor swimming pool planned to be erected next to the existing swimming complex, projects which are considered by the leadership of the city as priorities, the Prime Minister said: these will be built. He added: “we are convinced that there must be a swimming pool of this size and an event hall of this size in every county-ranked city (…) in Hungary in the 21st century; these form part of the quality of life which we work for, and which we expect of ourselves”.
Mayor Sándor Dénes highlighted at the press conference: the purpose of the cooperation agreement is to implement developments in the city which best serve the interests of those living in Nagykanizsa and in the region. The principal objective is to make the best possible use of Nagykanizsa’s economic development opportunities of national significance, and its favourable features, the Mayor added.
Mr Dénes pointed out that, without central assistance, the city would not be able to resume its function as an industrial and business centre, which its features otherwise warrant. Through the development of the economy of Nagykanizsa, new jobs must be created not only for the residents of the county-ranked city but also for those who live in localities in the vicinity and beyond the county borders, the Mayor remarked.
The Mayor mentioned the enlargement of the 150-hectare industrial park, the construction of a road which bypasses the city from the south, the continuation of the urban rehabilitation programme, including the construction of a multifunctional sports and event hall and a 50-metre indoor swimming pool, the construction of a multifunctional city-centre facility promoting business and conference tourism, and the Mura Programme which serves the purposes of eco-tourism as the most important projects.
The development of cities in the provinces is key to the development of the countryside, Mr Dénes said, and added: the cooperation agreements signed within the framework of the Modern Cities Programme all serve this purpose. „It is our common goal to turn Nagykanizsa into a thriving industrial, commercial and cultural centre and an attractive and inclusive city at Hungary’s south-western gate”, the Mayor said in summary.
In answer to a journalist’s question as to whether the Government is planning to divert large investors to Nagykanizsa, Prime Minister Orbán said: the investors directed to Nagykanizsa to date have been unable to settle in the city due to the lack of a single large industrial site. Now, however, the plans exist for creating just such a site, and large companies intending to invest will regularly visit Nagykanizsa in the future, Mr Orbán said, stressing that we must simultaneously offer an industrial site, qualified, disciplined and performance-oriented work force, and an attractive cultural environment.
Uncut full recordings of the event may be downloaded from the Press Room.
(Prime Minister’s Office/MTI)