Public procurement for Chain Bridge revamp hoped to get green light next week

The Budapest Transport Centre (BKK) board has expressed “principled support for the management” that it will discuss and hopefully agree to invite a public procurement tender for the reconstruction of Budapest’s iconic Chain Bridge next week, BKK CEO László Fendrik told a press conference in Budapest on Friday.

Kata Tüttő, deputy mayor for the Socialists, said that the major questions of the public procurement tender have been decided and the renovation would give the bridge a lighter structure for the next 25 years.

“The renovation should have started already nine years ago when the first experts’ report called for it,” Tüttő told the press conference.

Now the municipality had no other option but to decide for carrying out solely the renovation of the bridge without being able to also launch the reconstruction of the tunnel for trams and the renovation of the Buda Castle Tunnel, she said.

The central government has repeatedly called for an immediate renovation of the bridge over the past nine months, but has been unable to transfer the 6 billion forints (EUR 17m) it had pledged for the project ever since,

said Tüttő.

She said the city council would be ready to supplement that amount missing to meet the entire cost of the project.

Tüttő confirmed that

“the renovation will get under way, we are going to revamp that Chain Bridge.”