MKIF: The concession agreement is valid; government decisions are needed as soon as possible to allow development work to continue

A decision on the operation of the M6 must be taken by early September at the latest

The interview published by vg.hu centred on the takeover of the operation of the M6 motorway, which remains an open question, whilst time is running out, according to the CEO of MKIF Magyar Koncessziós Infrastruktúra Fejlesztő Zrt.. Tamás Németh said:

„This is included as an option in our concession agreement. The previous government indicated that it wished to exercise this option; in other words, it asked us to take over the operation of the M6 motorway. However, we have been waiting for a final decision for months: we have still not received confirmation from the ministry that we are indeed required to take over operations.” As he said, this is all the more urgent because time is running out; from 8 October, MKIF should already be carrying out operational tasks.

The company should start preparing now for a possible takeover: recruiting staff, securing the necessary equipment, and procuring the salt supplies required for winter operations.

The chief executive said that the final government decision must be made by 1 September at the latest, because after that – whoever the operator may be – there will not be enough time to prepare.

Tamás Németh stated categorically that claims suggesting that operating the MKIF would be significantly more expensive are simply untrue. He added that the figures cited by Dávid Vitézy, Minister for Transport and Investment, do not match the amounts set out in the concession agreement or in the company’s tender.

„The costs we have committed to are significantly lower than this; moreover, the technical scope of our bid is not the same as that of the current operation, so the two proposals cannot be directly compared.”

According to MKIF, the concessionaire is taking on a significant risk

Another key topic of the interview was the risk-sharing aspect of the concession arrangement. Tamás Németh rejected the claim that the company does not assume any significant business risk. He explained that the concessionaire bears the risks not only of operation and maintenance, but also of planning, financing, construction and long-term maintenance. He also emphasised that the company has so far arranged nearly 2 billion euros in loan financing, for which it has provided 30–40 per cent of the funds itself.

The Chief Executive emphasised that the owners have so far provided nearly 150 billion forints of their own funds to finance the project, whilst the largest investments – including the expansion of the M1 motorway – are currently underway.

The vast majority of toll revenue remains with the state

The company’s director also addressed the controversies surrounding toll revenue. According to him, from the start of the concession until the end of 2025, the Hungarian state collected approximately 2,200 billion forints in net toll revenue across the entire toll network, whilst MKIF received 673 billion forints in net availability payments under the concession agreement. According to the statement, around 70 per cent of the toll revenue remains with the state.

Tamás Németh explained that the 673 billion forints received under the concession agreement had been spent entirely on roads. The vast majority of this went towards road refurbishment – the largest motorway refurbishment project in Hungary’s history (levelling). „The scale of the investment is clearly illustrated by the fact that 700 kilometres of motorways were renovated over three years, 13 million square metres of road surface were resurfaced, and nearly 2.5 million tonnes of asphalt were laid. A total of 315 bridges and 68 rest areas have been refurbished.” “These figures alone clearly demonstrate that an extremely significant amount of engineering work has been carried out,” he added.

In the event of the contract being terminated, a settlement would be required

In response to the suggestion that the current concession arrangement could be terminated, Tamás Németh stated that a valid 35-year contract is in force between the parties, which precisely sets out the settlement rules applicable in such situations.

„We are bound by these contractual provisions” – he emphasised. „We cannot be expected to simply accept it and walk away without being reimbursed for the investments we have already made, should the Hungarian state decide overnight that it no longer requires the concession arrangement.”

Preparations for the M7 and M200 are continuing

The interview also reveals that MKIF is continuing with preparations for the next major developments set out in the contract. The company is currently working on the design of the M7 motorway extension and the M200 expressway; however, the necessary government decisions and finalisation of funding are also required for these projects to go ahead. According to the current timetable, work on the M7 expansion is due to start in the second half of 2027, whilst construction of the M200 is due to begin at the end of 2027.

Road safety is the top priority in the M1 motorway extension project

In response to a question, Tamás Németh also touched on the traffic diversions put in place during the renovation of the M1 motorway.

According to him, the 2×2 traffic lanes were maintained throughout the works, and the majority of major traffic jams were not caused directly by the roadworks, but by accidents, broken-down vehicles or other exceptional incidents. He added that, from the outset, the company has been calling for the introduction of average speed enforcement and stricter enforcement of traffic regulations, as these could significantly improve road safety.