LMP councillor complains Metro 3 renovation could be delayed

Budapest, May 23 (MTI) – The renovation of Budapest’s third metro line could be delayed, said Antal Csárdi, a councillor for the opposition LMP party, on Sunday. 

Csárdi said that though the Municipal Assembly was to decide earlier this week on who would supply the replacement buses that would shuttle passengers during the metro line’s renovation, the decision was postponed.

The next time the assembly can decide on the replacement buses is July, which means that the renovation schedule will not be met, Csárdi said.The winner of the bus procurement tender will not be able to deliver the buses in time, so it is not clear how Budapesters will travel during the renovation, Csárdi said, suggesting that the central government and “Fidesz interests” were behind the hitches. He said the government had earlier prevented Budapest from taking out a loan to purchase the buses which made “the whole process very difficult, nearly impossible”.

The contract for the renovation of Budapest’s metro 3 was signed on May 5. The upgrade is set to be supported by 120 billion forints (EUR 380m) in European Union funding and 20 billion from the central budget. The state will guarantee the full 140 billion forints even if EU funding for the project falls through. The renovation is scheduled to start in November and last until the summer of 2019.