Row over Budapest megaproject
The sale of the 100-hectare former Rákosrendező freight yard by the Hungarian state to the Emirati Eagle Hills Group has led to a conflict between the opposition-led capital and the national government. Also because a company belonging to the municipal authorities has a purchase option on the site - and the city council now wants to exercise it. The national press is also at odds over the megaproject.
A huge cash injection
For the pro-government paper Magyar Nemzet the investment will have a positive effect not only at the municipal level:
“The potential impact must also be examined from the perspective of the entire Hungarian economy. ... According to the latest plans, the property developer could potentially invest 12 billion euros - almost 5 trillion forints - over a nine-year period, increasing Hungary's GDP by two percent. It is also important to consider that this huge sum will increase the income of Hungarian architects and Hungarian building and civil engineering companies in particular.”
City sell-off driven by greed?
Magyar Hang speculates that as far as government politicians are concerned, personal gain is the driving force behind the project:
“What motivated sovereign Hungary and its even more sovereign government to hand over a not insignificant part of the capital's territory to a foreign power? What can explain the fact that Rákosrendező is being turned into a mini-Dubai, or in other words, that the United Arab Emirates is being allowed to deface the view of this world heritage site in the centre of Budapest with skyscrapers that will be several hundred metres high? Of course, one might assume that those responsible are eager to line their pockets, but such a treasonous level of wheeling and dealing seems surprising even for the knights of the Orbán system.”
Laws are there to be observed
It was a mistake to believe the city could not exercise its right to first refusal, lawyer and former state secretary Gábor Gadó explains in hvg:
“[Minister for National Economy] Márton Nagy is ignorant of the laws that govern the functioning of the country's economy. No doubt he deems it superfluous to delve deeper into the laws since the government majority can always adapt regulations to its goals, even retroactively if need be. Not to mention the enormous scope in the interpretation of legal norms. But when preparing a real estate transaction worth almost 51 billion forints [125 million euros], the least one can expect is that the laws will be examined.”