Combination of domestic, EU financing for new motorways

Budapest, April 25 (MTI) – In the 2014-2020 financing period, 300 billion forints (EUR 1bn) of European Union funds will be invested in road upgrades and building, a government official told Saturday’s Magyar Hirlap daily.

Zsolt Becsey, deputy state secretary for transport at the ministry of national development, told the paper that not only would EU funding be involved but money from the Hungarian budget, too. The government decided in January to devote 750 billion forints (EUR 2.5bn) to developing Hungary’s motorway and highway network, he noted.

He said, however, that funding for the previously planned construction of the north section of the M0 motorway ring road around Budapest would not go ahead due to limited resources in the current budget cycle. Even so, preparations for the project will still go ahead under Hungarian financing, he added. The M0 project is specifically a very expensive one due to environmental challenges, as well as difficulties posed by the hilly terrain, he said.

Similarly, development of the M1 motorway involving widening the road cannot be financed for the time being, he said. “Since it is very important to manage properly growing traffic, we are continuously looking for opportunities to expand this section, too,” Becsey added.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters