Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced that an agreement has been signed on connecting Budapest and Szolnok with a new, four-lane expressway by 2019 at the latest; the road will follow the route of the existing express road 4 that commences at Ferenc Liszt International Airport.
A decision has also been made on constructing a bypass to the north of Szolnok, the Prime Minister said after signing a cooperation agreement with Mayor of the city Ferenc Szalay (Fidesz-KDNP) as part of the Modern Cities programme.
Szolnok is a civic city but this requires funds, jobs and companies, which the city has provided in recent years, Mr. Orbán told the press conference. He said that the civic, national and Christian community bears special responsibility for Szolnok as the inhabitants have consistently trusted the Mayor supported by them over the last years.
He recalled that the Government has taken over HUF 22 billion in debts from Szolnok. He said he signed the cooperation agreement with “a light hand and heart”. It makes a difference to sign an agreement with a city you know also inside, not only outside, he said in reference to his former home in Szolnok in the second half of the 1980s.
The Prime Minister promised that by 2018-2019, the end of the current central and local government’s term, Budapest and Szolnok will be connected by a simplified four-lane road, making the city even more attractive to investors. Constructions may begin as soon as next year, Mr. Orbán said.
Currently, the city has a two-lane bypass south and a four-lane bypass will be built north. For this purpose a working group will be established, and the cabinet meeting on Wednesday afternoon will probably make a decision on the bypass. Without available EU funding, the project will be financed by the state budget, the Prime Minister explained. The M4 will be built, only not as a motorway but as a dual carriageway. For this, however, “everything must be reconsidered, recalculated”, he said in response to a question.
Talking about the details, Mr. Szalay said that the road construction between Abony and Fegyvernek, which has come to a halt, will “continue with a new idea”. One part is the northern bypass of Szolnok and the other is the section from Törökszentmiklós to Fegyvernek. The M4 will not remain incomplete and will come to completion on the planned route but with a different technical content. Instead of a motorway, it will be a dual carriageway, he said in summary.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also said that Szolnok will receive a new 300 hectare industrial park; the plot will be purchased by the Government. Earlier, the Government granted HUF 529 million to support the improvement of the Hungarian Railways (MÁV) sports facility on Véső út and will now appropriate another HUF 1 billion for the development of the city beach.
He added that the Government will award HUF 1 billion to the development of the artists’ colony, HUF 3 billion to the Tiszaliget open air swimming pool, and another HUF 1 billion to the harbour development programme. Also, negotiations are underway to move the national water management authority to Szolnok. To this end, a working group has been established with the relevant decision expected by the end of the year, Mr. Orbán announced.
The Prime Minister noted that Szolnok is a city of railway traditions therefore the Government is now working on a development plan on “ways to involve locally manufactured wagons in the future of Hungarian railways”. The Government is planning to spend hundreds of billions of forints on railway development projects, he said in response to a question.
Szolnok and other cities with county status have prepared urban development strategies, informing the Government about the developments they need, Mr. Szalay told the press conference.
The Mayor pointed out that the unemployment rate in Szolnok has dropped below 6 percent. Another benefit is that the city, similarly to the nationwide economic development, has gained strength in economic terms: the 124 hectare industrial park is full and local taxpayers are exceptionally law-abiding. He added that Szolnok has 80-90 percent of local children in higher education and boasts of a flourishing culture. Szolnok will grant HUF 600 million to support the Véső út sports facility, he said in response to a question.
As a number of large cities are facing the challenge of full industrial parks, the Government will discuss on Wednesday afternoon ways to buy and lease land to cities, the Prime Minister said in answer to a question.
Viktor Orbán will visit all 23 cities of county status as part of the Modern Cities Programme to sign cooperation agreements with local mayors for promoting the development of provincial cities.