New construction of a new main railway station, reconstruction of the Nyíregyháza-Debrecen railway line, 2×2 lane road works - a package of improvements in Debrecen

The Government regards Debcen as a co-capital city and will continue to participate in its development, as a result of which the city could become one of Europe's thirty largest industrial centres, Minister of Construction and Transport János Lázár said on Wednesday at a press conference following the meeting of the working group on the concept of local economic development investments.

He said that the state has so far supported economic development with HUF 500 billion, of which HUF 300 billion has been used in the North-Western Economic Zone, home to the BMW car plant, and HUF 200 billion in the Southern Industrial Zone.

The government will also decide on further economic development investments this year, and will need to provide an additional HUF 250-250 billion in funding by 2026, he added.

Everything is in place for the start of car production in Debrecen in 2025

As László Papp, Mayor of Debrecen, said – as dehir.hu also informs: the developments expected by investors in the North-West Economic Zone are almost complete, and there are no obstacles to the start of series production at the 400-hectare BMW industrial site, while public utility and transport developments are still underway in the 100-hectare supplier park.

János Lázár said that everything is in place for car production to start in Debrecen in 2025.

The Mayor explained that in the Southern Economic Belt, further development is needed to meet the electricity, water and stormwater needs of the industrial projects taking place there, and the resources are available. He also added that the design of the grey water network was completed in November and asked the government to provide funding for this as well, so that the factories being built in the city can operate with a significant proportion of treated wastewater.

These construction projects could start as early as spring

The mayor explained in detail the city's transport developments, referring to the fact that Debrecen, as an economic powerhouse, also receives significant transport funding from the state.

He stressed that four of the five major planned interchange developments in Debrecen are already in the contracting and signing phase:

- reconstruction of the intersections of Balmazújváros and Füredi roads and Csigekert and Szabó Lőrinc streets
- capacity increase at the junction of Szoboszlói út and Külsővásártér
- linking Domokos Márton road and the 354 main road
- improvement of the intersection of Vámospércsi út, Hétvezér and Budai Nagy Antal streets

He said that by the end of November, the administrative government decisions could be made that could start these, which would allow the contractors to take over the work site this year and the bulk of the construction work could start next spring.

At the junction of Rakovszky and Old Breath Street, the public procurement will be re-launched due to the high price of the bids received, he added.

And János Lázár listed the following huge series of developments coming to the city:

• the preparation of the Debrecen eastern bypass, with plans to be completed by 2026 and the road to be opened by 2029
• four-laning of an additional section of the 471 and the construction of a new junction,
• the reconstruction of the railway line between Debrecen and Nyíregyháza, including the conversion of the Sámsoni út railway junction into a special junction (together worth HUF 320 billion);

In addition, haon.hu also discussed further expressway connections according to:

"Construction of the M4 motorway is currently underway between Törökszentmiklós and Kisújszállás. The €150 billion project will be completed by the end of next year. After that, the aim is to complete the four-lane road to Berettyóújfalu, linking the M35 to the M4. This programme should be completed by 2030. Plans include turning the main road 47 between Békéscsaba and Debrecen into a motorway. The most likely scenario for this is that the double dual carriageway between Békéscsaba and Szeghalom could start by 2029"

- informed. He added that at the suggestion of László Papp, the four-lane widening of the 4 main road will also be implemented, so in addition to the motorway link, there will also be a direct four-lane connection between the two cities.

Involving private capital in the development of busy railway stations

János Lázár then spoke about several other developments, and as an important development, he explained that due to lack of funds, the plans for the main railway station in Debrecen could not be implemented earlier, but they have a proposal: they would build the complex with the involvement of private capital.

He said:

Építési és Közlekedési Minisztérium has a vision for ten busy stations to separate rail operations from commercial functions and to involve private capital in the operation of the latter.

According to a video posted on Facebook video posted on Facebook, these may include Debrecen, as well as the Nyugati, Keleti and Déli railway stations in the capital, and the railway stations in Debrecen and Győr; the minister also mentioned the railway stations in Szeged and Kelenföld in Budapest as possible locations.

He pointed out that there is a lot of interest in the programme, which will be put out to tender and will be launched in a very short time. MÁV and the winning company would create a joint real estate development company, in which MÁV would have a stake of up to 25 percent, the minister said, according to dehir.hu.