Orbán cabinet committed to building mini-Dubai with UAE firm and skyscraper in Budapest

An international contract appeared on the official website of the Hungarian government concerning the project. The document writes that the Orbán cabinet would carry out an 800-million-euro infrastructure development project in Budapest’s downtown for the so-called mini-Dubai project involving even the erection of a skyscraper not far from the Heroes’ Square.

According to 444.hu, in return, investors from the United Arab Emirates would build a Dubai-like district in Rákosrendező with a modernised train station and even a skyscraper, which will be the tallest building in Budapest. Based on media information, its height will be 220-240 metres, much taller than the MOL Tower near the Danube, which is only 143 metres.

The government-close oligarch, Lőrinc Mészáros’s planned MBH office tower will ‘only’ be 90 metres tall.

The tallest building in the Hungarian capital is the MVM North Buda power plant’s chimney, which is 216 metres. Interestingly, the Hungarian parliament and Saint Stephen’s Basilica are just 96 metres tall. That was intentional at the end of the 19th century and referred to the conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 896.

Thus, the new Dubai district’s skyscraper will be taller than anything else in Budapest, so it will fundamentally shape the city’s outlook.

According to the government’s proposal, they would sell a Dubai investor 130 hectares around the Rákosrendező train station in the capital’s 14th district, close to Hungary’s iconic Heroes’ Square.

Extended metro line, direct connection to Budapest Airport

Furthermore, the government plans to sign a strategic cooperation with the contractor. Moreover, the cabinet labelled it a priority project of extraordinary importance for the national economy. As a result, opposition-lead local governments will lose all regulatory powers.

In addition, the government will carry out infrastructure development elements. For example, they will build a pedestrian overpass, develop the railway connections and cover the rail tracks to create a park over them. Moreover, the Orbán cabinet will extend metro line M1 and build bike and pedestrian roads.

Furthermore, the Hungarian government promised creating a direct railway connection between Budapest Airport and the Rákosrendező railway station.

The mayor does not like it

János Lázár, Hungary’s transport and construction minister, said they would need 35 hectares out of the 130 hectares for the railway network’s development. 60-65 hectares will be built-up area, and 20-25 hectares will host a new public park. The contractor will be Mohamed Alabbar’s Emaar Properties. That company built the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the world’s tallest structure watching over its neighbourhood with 829.8 metres. They will invest EUR 5 billion in the area’s development, including the railway station’s renewal.

Gergely Karácsony, Budapest’s mayor, would like a Park City instead of the mini-Dubai in that region and wanted guarantees from the contractor.

In the last few years, several such megaprojects were announced. One is the student district near the Danube in Ferencváros and Csepel (9th and 21st districts) and a public park in North Csepel. Despite the spectacular visuals, nothing has happened since.

LMP: Budapest’s Rákodrendező is ‘green gold reserve’ (UPDATE: 14 January)

Budapest’s Rákosrendező neighbourhood is a “green gold reserve” where more parks and green areas should be developed, not buildings, the opposition LMP said on Saturday. Deputy parliamentary group leader Máté Kanász-Nagy told a press conference that the government planned skyscrapers and highrises for its “Rákos-Dubai” project that would turn the neighbourhood into an urban “heat island”, making life difficult for residents.

He called out Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony for not rejecting the project and suggested a “pact” may have been made with Construction and Transport Minister János Lázár. Kanász-Nagy complained that details of a new public transport tariff system had not been revealed by either the city council or the central government had said LMP had launched a petition to “rescue” Budapest public transport passes after the new system is rolled out on March 1.

Read also:

• Dubai billionaire can build skyscraper near Heroes’ Square – Read more HERE
• Budapest’s metro line may face closure due to the hazardous state of carriages – Details in THIS article