Government’s secret investment in Budapest: Chinese chemical hub will be built?

The Hungarian government would like to allow unspecified investments in 500 hectares of partially natural reserve without informing local governments and negotiating with NGOs or locals. The territory is as big as Budapest’s 5th and 6th districts, and affects the capital’s 23rd district and a suburb, Gyál. Fidesz majority and mayors lead both localities. Before, it popped up that the Chinese would like to create a chemical hub for their European operations, which triggered harsh opposition from politicians and NGOs.

Chinese chemical hub in Budapest?

Soroksár’s Fidesz mayor, Ferenc Bese, expressed that he and his district will do everything to prevent the project. Rebeka Szabó, the co-leader of Párbeszéd-Hungarian Greens, asked PM Orbán about the project in the parliament. Orbán said they would not support such Chinese investments in Budapest. Later, that standpoint was repeated by members of the government. When Telex asked the government about the issue, they received an identical answer.

Here is Bese’s latest letter on the issue to construction and transport minister János Lázár:

And another statement – Soroksár will not be a Chinese chemical hub, Bese says:

However, the relevant government decree published on 14 September is still in effect. And it talks about 500 hectares of relatively good arable land, including nature reserves for some secret investment. The exact goal remains in the shadows. It might happen that the Hungarian government is waiting for the results of the local elections on 9 June, 2024. If there are Fidesz victories, they may start whatever they want.

Gergely Karácsony, Budapest’s opposition mayor, believes the Hungarian government would like to create a Chinese poison hub in Soroksár. Direkt36, a Hungarian investigative journalism website, wrote that China would like to build a chemical hub in Soroksár and Gyál to supply its European battery plants. That is what Orbán denied, but the decree is still in effect.

Nobody knows anything precise about the government’s secret invesment being Budapest’s biggest

WWF Hungary tried to get more data about the planned investment. They only learned that the government would like to allow companies to do transport, logistics, and storage on the territory. However, there are some protected marshes which such investments would probably kill.

Dalma Dedák, WWF’s environmental policy expert, said the original investment territory was smaller. The September decree extended the area affected.

Opposition politicians in Soroksár believe that the investment would make the district unlivable due to the increased traffic. Meanwhile, the Fidesz leadership of Gyál also protested against the plans.

The 500 hectares affected are in the hands of private owners and the local governments. The capital does not have possession there. Therefore, Budapest cannot prevent the secret project. Only the local government of Soroksár can do so, but only for three years, Sándor Bardóczi, the chief landscape architect of Budapest, told Telex.

Another expert said that decision-makers aim to build up a big and valuable territory during a climate emergency and global warming, which is unacceptable.

We wrote more HERE about the plan of the Chinese chemical hub. HERE is another article about the Hungarian government trying to attract as many Chinese investments as possible.