Hungary plans to build €6bn ‘Dubai-style’ Budapest district

Hungary’s government plans to develop a ‘Dubai-style’ hub around a partly disused railway station in Budapest for €6 billion (US$6.5 billion), mostly using foreign funding.

The Hungarian government will spend approximately €1 billion to improve the infrastructure (Photo: AdobeStock)

Hungary’s state railways own a site located northeast of central Pest, which is set to be developed using private investment of at least €5 billion (US$5.3 billion).

Janos Lazar, the minister for construction and transportation, announced that the Hungarian government will spend approximately €1 billion to improve the infrastructure.

Minister Lazar did not disclose the name of the foreign investor but mentioned that it is one of the largest in the world. The deal will be subject to an inter-governmental agreement.

The Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban, has ordered the construction of a large-scale project that resembles the grandeur of Dubai, according to Lazar.

Currently, the construction of skyscrapers is prohibited in Pest. However, Lazar believes that the new 143-meter-tall headquarters of Mol Nyrt. in Buda may have opened the way for the construction of more such buildings.

Lazar added that details of the project will be worked out in the next half year.