The former Hungarian government pledged extensive financial incentives, housing support, expedited immigration procedures and infrastructure development to Chinese battery giant CATL as part of its plans for a major factory in Debrecen. Newly disclosed details of a 2022 investment declaration have shed further light on the scale of commitments made by the Orbán administration.
Thousands of foreign workers and rental homes
Zsolt Tárkányi, State Secretary at the Ministry of Transport and Investment and a Tisza Party MP representing Debrecen, published further excerpts from the document on Facebook, highlighting promises that could have significantly expanded the Chinese company’s operations in Hungary. According to the declaration, CATL provided the government with annual estimates of its non-EU workforce requirements between June 2022 and December 2029.
The figures reportedly started at 42 workers, approached 2,000 by the summer of 2023 and exceeded 6,000 by the end of 2024. The company expected to require between 4,000 and 5,000 non-EU employees in 2025. Following the completion of construction, the projected permanent workforce was expected to stabilise at between 1,000 and 2,000 from 2027 onwards.
The Orbán government pledged to prioritise visa and work permit applications, with dedicated officials helping Chinese and other third-country nationals navigate immigration procedures. The local municipality also committed to working with the state to develop thousands of rental homes for CATL employees. Tárkányi criticised the proposal, arguing that the previous government had not shown comparable willingness to introduce housing programmes for Hungarian public sector workers.
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Public money for training and infrastructure
The investment declaration outlined substantial financial support. Previously disclosed provisions included non-refundable grants covering up to 25 per cent of innovation project costs, energy efficiency tax incentives worth up to EUR 15 million over six years, and training subsidies covering half of eligible costs, capped at EUR 2 million.
The government also considered reducing local business taxes and providing municipal support of up to EUR 200,000. Training subsidies could additionally reach EUR 5,000 per employee. Infrastructure commitments were another key element. The government agreed to examine railway modernisation and electrification, while road and rail developments connected to the investment were expected to be financed by Hungarian taxpayers.
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Potential expansion beyond Debrecen
The declaration also envisaged identifying suitable plots of land exceeding 100 hectares within a 50-kilometre radius of Debrecen for possible additional CATL factories. The municipality was expected to acquire land from private owners, prepare and consolidate the plots at its own expense, and subsequently sell them to CATL. The company would not be required to pay any additional fees or costs beyond the purchase price of the land.
However, the declaration was non-binding. Individual projects and subsidies would have required further agreements and, where applicable, approval from the Hungarian government, CATL or the European Commission. CATL announced its Debrecen investment in 2022. The first production unit, part of a planned three-phase development, has since received environmental and operational permits, with trial production reportedly beginning in September. The full project, however, remains unfinished.
