The capital’s historic drainage system is being renovated

Renovation work on the Ördög-árok main collector sewer is set to begin in Budapest’s 1st district, along Krisztina Boulevard, on the section between Mészáros Street and Dózsa György Square. The aim of the project is to restore the channel’s bed structure, which is crucial for the long-term operational reliability of the system.

The public procurement procedure, the bid submitted by BONEX Építőipari Kft. was declared the winner. The company won the contract with a net bid of 293.6 million forints. A maximum of 150 working days is available for completion, calculated from the handover of the worksite.

Although the project is relatively short, covering a stretch of just 86.5 metres, its technical significance far exceeds its scale: reconstruction works of this kind are essential for the smooth operation of the city’s rainwater and wastewater drainage systems.

They use specialised technology

During the project, the contractor is focusing specifically on riverbed restoration, which is a specialised hydraulic engineering technique. The essence of this is to reinforce and renovate the lower, most heavily used section of the channel, ensuring the correct gradient and water flow.

The works do not require a permit, but will be carried out in accordance with strict technical and organisational requirements. The works will include earthworks, removal of surfacing, construction of reinforced concrete structures and utility management tasks, often involving subcontractors.

A key component of the city’s infrastructure

The Ördög-árok is one of Budapest’s historic drainage systems, which now operates primarily as a covered sewer. Its condition has a direct impact on drainage in the surrounding neighbourhoods, so this current project is not merely a maintenance task but also a preventive infrastructure development.

Interventions of this kind help to make the capital’s sewerage network more resilient to extreme weather events and ensure that it continues to serve the city reliably in the long term.