Tennis court being built on Margaret Island

The government acted surprisingly fast regarding the question of the new tennis court on Margaret Island. They passed the bill allowing the construction within only a couple of days, as HVG reported.

The whole process took only a couple of days: the National Assembly decided last Monday about the voting on Tuesday concerning the new bill about constructing a tennis court that can provide a venue for even an international championship. The issue was urgent because of the upcoming Hungarian Open ATP World Tour tennis contest.

The constructors must make haste, as the law that makes the building possible expires on 31 December 2019.

The new complex will be built on Margaret Island in Budapest. The tennis court is meant to be suitable for hosting an “ATP 500” type championship and the international matches of Davis Cup.

But even more than the expiration of the law, another factor makes the construction urgent. Gazprom Hungarian Open ATP 250 will be hosted in April 2018; then the clock starts ticking for one year during which the tennis court must be built. The bill is mostly required for speeding up the public procurement. The fastest process involves the invitation of three bidders among which the cheapest contender wins the opportunity. Though the bidding itself is not open, its documents will be available for the public, as it is written in the bill.

However, the bill contains some quite radical points, such as the “municipal might transfer its right for the property in its possession to the state without competition” and “the ownership might be transferred to the state for free”.

The path from bill to law took roughly 24 hours.

The tennis court in Margaret Island received a legal green light. The representatives of the Parliament decided about the vote on Monday, they held it on Tuesday, and the law was introduced by Tuesday afternoon.

The complex will be designed to satisfy the needs of international sports events. The estimated territory of the building will be around 14,500 square meters, and its height will be 26 meters.

It will be one of the most challenging sport complex projects in Hungary as it will be even taller than the Groupama Arena.

The law provides right for the constructors of the auditorium to ignore the regulations concerning parking in Budapest. They also do not have to comply with rules regarding the protection, cutting and replacement of trees, which meant to preserve the famous green areas of Margaret Island.  Demolition, earthwork and deep foundation are neither restricted to a license in this particular case.

Source: HVG