Hundreds of thousands of workers in the sector celebrated on Builders' Day

Traditionally, the first Sunday in June each year is Builders' Day. In 2024, the central ceremony on 7 June was the occasion for the recognition of professional achievements, the presentation of awards and the salutation of the 380,000 people employed in the sector.

Public chambers, employers' and employees' interest groups and scientific associations, together with government representatives responsible for construction, welcomed all participants in the construction value chain, the National Confederation of Construction Contractors (ÉVOSZ) said in a statement.

Almost half a million people work in the sector

László Koji, President of the National Trade Association of Construction Contractors (ÉVOSZ), informed the participants that the construction industry employs 380,000 people, and together with the rest of the value chain - material producers, traders, designers - almost 500,000.

He said that the domestic sector is capable of building 25,000 homes a year and renovating more than 200,000, so the programme is eagerly awaited. The construction value chain in the country is capable of creating 8,000 billion forints of value a year

- indicated.

The president of ÉVOSZ mentioned as an example that world-class facilities were handed over in Budapest last year, such as the National Athletics Stadium and the Chain Bridge. Among the facilities completed this year, he highlighted the new Kalocsa-Paks bridge over the Danube, the ceremonial opening of which took place on 6 June and was reported by our newspaper on-site report.

Construction is a strategic partner in improving quality of life

The Government's goal is to make Hungary one of the five most liveable countries in the European Union by 2030, and the most important thing for this is to improve the quality of life, said Csaba Latorcai, State Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration and Regional Development, at the event:

Their other strategic partners are construction workers, but they also need resources to do their job and thus achieve government goals.

In his speech, the State Secretary said that the EU funds Hungary is entitled to are not all available at the moment. He stressed that the government is committed to bringing the missing funds, which are legally due, home and making them available to local authorities and, through them, to the construction industry as soon as possible.

Home renovation programme launches

Gábor Czepek, Minister of State of the Ministry of Energy, said that the home renovation programme, which aims to renovate family houses built before 1990, will be announced in July. A grant of HUF 6 million per property is available, consisting of a non-repayable grant and an interest-free loan. The programme will provide the domestic construction industry with more than HUF 130 billion in orders.

Several awards and prizes were presented

The Építési és Közlekedési Minisztérium received the Builders' Certificate of Recognition from Regő Lánszki, Secretary of State:

• Péter Bálint
• Zoltán Budavári
• Dr. Tamás Csoknyai
• Tibor Hidasi
• Dr. Tamás Horváth
• Attila Juhász
• Péter Kemény
• Gábor Krebsz
• Dr. János Krisztiánné Máté János
• Zoltán Pap
• Róbert Szemán
• Sándor Tombor
• Werner Sára
• Dr. László Wéber
• Dr. László István Istvánné Dr. Ilona Hrapka Wojnárovits László

They received the Ministerial Certificate of Appreciation from the Minister of State of the Ministry of Interior, Bence Rétvári:

• Ferenc József Bakos
• Zoltán Benczik
• Szabolcs Helfrich
• László Kóthay
• Gábor Szőts

Dr. Gábor Becker was elected as an honorary member of the ÉTE, János Kovács, Tamás Semmelweis and László Vízy received the ÉTE Award, while Julianna Kiss, Tamás Ádám Kovács and Balázs Uhrinyi (business development manager of KÉSZ Holding Zrt.) were awarded the ÉTE Memorial Medal. Dávid Bozsaky has now received his award from last year. The Ignác Alpár Award went to Gábor Lekics, while Martina Horváth, Eszter Bánkúti and Péter Török were recognised in the ÉTE Diploma Award competition.

András Zsigmondi was awarded the Kardos András Award of the Hungarian Chamber of Engineers, while the Association of Trade Unions of Construction, Timber and Building Materials Workers (ÉFÉDOSZSZ) awarded certificates of recognition to Margit Deckertné Balázs, Ferenc Gorisek (ZÁÉV Zrt.), Ferenc Gyulai and Attila Semey. György Péli was awarded the commemorative medal of the Siliciculture Scientific Association.