Road building
What is the motorway concession actually about?
There are more than a hundred concessions in Europe with a duration similar to that of MKIF Zrt. This was announced in the company's first podcast, which featured Tamás Németh, Chief Executive Officer as a guest.
The first discussion on the new podcast channel touched on several key issues that are repeatedly debated in the press concerning the concession.
To calculate the return on investment, a long-term perspective is required.
At the beginning of the broadcast, the CEO clarified what falls within the scope of the 35-year, 1,237-kilometre concession. „To put it simply, MKIF Magyar Koncessziós Infrastruktúra Fejlesztő Zrt. is responsible for the operation, development and maintenance of the Hungarian expressway network, which does not include the M5, M6 and M0 motorways, as well as a few smaller expressways.”
He explained that the 35-year term is not considered long, as there are more than a hundred concessions of this duration in Europe. „The duration of such agreements can range from ten to 80-90 years,” he said. „They are so long because a sufficient period of time is needed to calculate the return on a large-scale investment.” As a domestic example, he pointed out that there are also 30-35-year contracts among the concessions for the M5 and M6 motorways.
information map of motorways and motorways under construction
Source: mkif.hu
Everyone can draw their own conclusions from the figures.
He also compared the latter concessions with the concession in question from other perspectives. „The 2024 Hungarian budget shows how much it will cost:
The M5 and M6 motorways cost 172 billion, but their total length is only 380 kilometres. Our motorways cover nearly 1,300 kilometres, for which we receive 200 billion annually. Everyone can easily compare these figures.
As I used to say, we would have liked to sign a contract with the Hungarian state that was at least as good as this one, but unfortunately we were not as skilled negotiators as our predecessors in previous governments.
In addition to all this, there is also a significant difference in the expected level of service associated with the concessions.
„Instead of the previous C level, we must now provide an A level of service in the operation of the motorway,” added the CEO.
Among other things, this level means faster repairs of faults on the track and more frequent cleaning of rest areas – as Tamás Németh previously explained in a detailed interview with our newspaper.
Hundreds of kilometres of new expressways to be built over ten years
In the interview, he also discussed future developments to be carried out by MKIF Zrt..
„We have just embarked on a ten-year development period, during which the M1, M7 and M3 motorways will be expanded and renovated, and we will also build new motorways and expressways,” confirmed Tamás Németh. In addition to the above, he also mentioned the construction of the M200 and M8 motorways, adding that several hundred kilometres of new motorways will be built over the next ten years.
„The financial resources are available for this, and the concessionaire must provide more than 20 per cent of the funds themselves. We have signed the contract for the first loan package, so the construction work can begin,” said the head of the concession company.
All revenue was reinvested in development
Tamás Németh also responded to criticism that the corporate groups behind the concession have already earned huge revenues from it.
„On the one hand, I would like to emphasise that we have reinvested all of the revenue generated from the concession into developments. On the other hand, it is important to note that all developments and investments are carried out by MKIF Zrt. using loans and its own resources. The owners must invest significantly more capital in the operation of the concession than the revenue it generates.”
The CEO drew particular attention to an article on an economic portal, which stated that no improvements had been made to date. „I believe that anyone who has travelled on Hungarian motorways will have noticed that more than 500 kilometres of road surface has been renewed in recent years, and numerous bridges and junctions have also been improved. We have implemented this programme, worth hundreds of billions of forints, from our own resources, and it has affected more than a third of our network.”
Expressways have become this much younger in two years
He also shared a telling statistic from an independent survey: according to this, the average age of the pavement on the 11 expressways operated by MKIF Zrt. was around 20 years in 2022, which will decrease by more than 50 per cent to between 0 and 5 years by 2024, i.e. in two years. „I would like to emphasise that this figure will be supplemented by the 2025 data, which will further improve the indicators,” said the CEO.
The podcast was recorded in autumn 2025. The MKIF Zrt. then published the results of the first three years of renovation last December.
The figures from the National Road Database show that while the network operated by MKIF Zrt. was 24.6% between 0 and 5 years old in the autumn of 2022, three years later, on 1 September 2025, there were already 66% of pavement less than 5 years old on the road network managed by MKIF Zrt.. Between 2023 and 2025, 13 million square metres of expressways under concession management were renovated, representing almost 70% of the main road, in addition to which 315 bridges and 68 rest areas were also renovated.
The data, figures and facts are available here in graph form:
https://mkif.hu/four-million-square-metres-of-domestic-expressways-were-renovated-this-year/
and here:
The first episode of the MKIF Zrt. podcast, On the Road to the Future – The Vision of Leaders, can be listened to or viewed here:
Source: Link
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