After his two-day negotiations in Beijing, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó stated that representatives from Hungary and China have initialled the intergovernmental agreement; therefore, after its signing – which is expected next week – the path will be clear to begin modernisation of the Belgrade-Budapest railway line.
With the finalisation of the intergovernmental agreement, the signing can take place at the summit between China and the Central and Eastern European countries. After this, the Minister said, the Government of Hungary will submit the agreement to the Hungarian parliament for ratification, and carry out consultation with the European Commission.
Mr. Szijjártó said that 166 kilometres of the railway line linking Budapest and Belgrade will be modernised, electrified, equipped with new safety devices and also extended with a second track, on which 740-metre-long trains will be able to run. Travel time for passenger trains between the two capitals will decrease to two and a half hours; the suburban railway system will also be modernised. The costs of the Hungarian section will be more than 470 billion forints.
Mr. Szijjártó said that 85% of the implementation costs will be financed by a Chinese loan. After the signing of the intergovernmental agreement, negotiations about the financial questions will also be near completion. The aim, he added, is to take into account every aspect of the national economy’s interests.
According to the MTI press agency, the Chinese party would like to see Chinese-made engines and carriages on the Belgrade-Budapest line. The Minister said that he made it clear to his partners that this can only happen if Chinese production bases are set up in Hungary, creating new jobs.
The Hungarian party expects the planned railway line to be the most competitive means of transport between Greek ports and the Western European market. With this investment, the Minister said, Hungary will exploit its geographical location and take another step towards being a relevant European section of the One Belt, One Road strategy: the road of Chinese economic expansion.