Government plans to build ‘millennium city centre’ in downtown Budapest?

Hungary’s government is in talks with the world’s top property developers on a 5 billion euro project that would transform a 130 hectare area in downtown Budapest into a “millennium city centre”, the minister of construction and transport said on Monday.

The project that would be carried out at the location of the Rákosrendező train station in the 14th district would elevate Budapest to the ranks of modern global cities, János Lázár told a press conference.

The initial assessment and depollution work would cost around 20 billion forints (EUR 52.8m), Lázár said, noting that the government had committed to carrying out around 1 billion euros worth of infrastructure investments.

The government expects the intergovernmental agreement on the investment to be signed in the second half of 2024, he said, adding that the project could be completed by the end of the decade.

“Our goal is for Budapest to be the strongest intellectual, economic and political power centre in the region,” Lázár said.

Budapest mayor sceptical

Reacting to Lázár’s press conference, Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony said there could be no development project in the capital that put the interest of the investors before those of Budapest residents. Karácsony told a press conference that the city’s leadership was engaged in “a social dialogue of historic importance” with the government on the planned project.