Orbán cabinet is building pointless Danube bridge for tremendous money while Budapest bridges rot – photos

According to G7, even the government’s own feasibility study does not justify building a four-lane bridge across the Danube near Mohács, which will cost taxpayers over 300 billion forints (EUR 765 million). Meanwhile, critical bridges like Petőfi and Árpád in Budapest, which handle heavy traffic, lack funds for refurbishment. On the Csepel Gubacsi Bridge, a vital artery of Hungary’s economy, speed limits have been reduced to just 5 km/h due to serious structural issues.

Pointless new Danube bridge

G7 highlights that Hungary has both overpriced construction projects and those whose existence is justified only by rent-seeking, where certain groups profit from public money without any real public benefit. Take the M6 motorway, which continues to generate billions in losses annually (54 billion forints in 2024 alone). But the Mohács Danube Bridge stands out with its enormous 300 billion forint price tag, entirely disproportionate to the predicted daily traffic of just 600 vehicles.

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The government greenlit the bridge project last August, awarding it to Duna Aszfalt, a company linked to Szijj László. Although construction is well underway, G7 reported that the ministry refused to release the feasibility study, claiming it remains confidential as a decision-preparatory document even in 2025.

Why was the feasibility study kept secret?

The reason is clear: the study and the government’s manipulations reveal the flawed nature of the Mohács Danube Bridge project:

• It forecasts vehicle traffic equivalent to a small feeder road (604–616 “unit vehicles,” a measure where trucks and buses count as 2-3 cars, allowing comparison).
• It already includes projected growth between 2015 and 2025, showing little increase.
• Therefore, there is no justification for a four-lane bridge.
• The existing ferry service it aims to replace is rarely used and declining.
• The Mohács region itself is shrinking demographically.

Read our previous article about the Mohács Danube bridge: century-long dream to be realised