Index – Home – The government has made a decision, it has submitted the bill that everyone is talking about in Budapest

On Thursday evening, Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén submitted the bill that affects the investment known as mini-Dubai. The title of the bill On the announcement of the agreement on economic cooperation between the government of Hungary and the government of the United Arab Emirates has a name. In the agreement, the governments of Hungary and the United Arab Emirates undertook, among other things, that

the excellent bilateral relations between the two countries will be deepened, and entrepreneurship and cooperation will be promoted in matters affecting common interests and cooperation.

According to the bill, cooperation covers many areas: industry, trade and investments. (Exchange of information on the various investment systems, as well as work related to the exchange of administrative, legal, financial opportunities and all necessary procedures necessary for the cooperation related to the establishment of joint investment enterprises of the two countries.)

Furthermore, for tourism, logistics and related infrastructures. The cooperation also extends to the field of real estate. Within this, the following areas: purchase of state-owned real estate, in accordance with the relevant legal regulations of the given country and/or joint investment in projects that involve the development of state-owned real estate. Finally, the cooperation between the two countries also extends to agriculture and food security.

The government has made several commitments

According to the agreement, the project refers to the development of the Rákosrendező station area as a mixed-purpose real estate development,

According to the draft, the government undertakes to sell the properties necessary for the implementation of the project to the economic organization designated by the United Arab Emirates – with the prior written consent issued in the Hungarian cabinet’s decision. If and to the extent that the relevant Hungarian legislation allows this, without public procurement or tendering, but in accordance with national legislation.

The Hungarian government also undertakes to implement the necessary state infrastructural developments for the implementation of the project. The text details this as follows: “pedestrian overpass, road overpass over the railway, development of the railway track, covering the railway track in a suitable way so that a park can be built above it, extension of the M1 subway, cycle path and footpath.”

It provides the necessary funds for this up to an estimated amount of at least 800 million euros

– it is clear from the bill, which also states that in case of future development of the airport high-speed railway, the government is committed to providing a direct connection between the railway station created in the project and the airport.

According to the draft law, the UAE government undertakes to encourages the economic organization designated by him – to whom the property will be sold – that, subject to financial feasibility and a binding agreement

In order to achieve this, the parties will establish a committee. It is important to emphasize that either party has the right to terminate this agreement at any time by notifying the other party in writing “through diplomatic channels”. The termination becomes effective after six months from the date of notification – according to the draft law submitted by Zsolt Semjén.

Péter Szijjártó has already signed the contract

First there were press reports that Mohamed Alabbar, a businessman from the United Arab Emirates and the owner of the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai, had signed up to be the director of Cancer. After that, it was officially revealed at the end of November. Then, at the beginning of December, the Minister of Construction and Transport János Lázár officially presented the plans in detail.

The Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the Minister of State for Foreign Trade of the United Arab Emirates, signed the contract related to the project known as mini- or maxi-Dubai in Budapest in mid-March. This started with the fact that the service apartments in which MÁV employees live – some have already been renovated – must be vacated within 30 days.

According to the contract, Eagle Hills Properties will build a complete new urban district in Rákosrendező, which means a building complex consisting of high-rise buildings, office buildings and luxury apartments. In addition, according to press reports, a 220-240-meter high skyscraper would be built, which would beat the current tallest Mol tower by almost a hundred meters.

According to Péter Szijjártó’s statement at the time: “This is a complex, large urban development investment, it will give Budapest a new quality, and we will be on the map that only and exclusively has world cities.”

The signing itself is a very important milestone on the path of cooperation between the two countries, which began more than thirty years ago. Foreign trade between the two countries has tripled since 2019, and we hope that we will continue to work together in the future

Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi said at the joint press conference. “The responsible policy of the United Arab Emirates is essential for the stability of the Middle East,” Péter Szijjártó wrote on his Facebook page. “The good economic cooperation between the two countries is gaining a lot of momentum today,” the foreign minister was confident.

Reactions are coming one after the other

After the publication of our article, the LMP issued a statement. In it, they stated that “the veil has fallen, according to Zsolt Semjén’s draft law, the government undertakes to invest HUF 304 billion in taxpayers’ money for a project that the people of Budapest were not even asked about.”

The LMP – Green Party of Hungary asks the members of parliament not to vote for the law, and the government to negotiate with Budapest instead of Arab investors, because the Rákosrendező area would be for the recultivation of green areas, the development of parks and the provision of affordable housing and the construction of rental apartments need!

According to the party, the entire project was flawed in several ways: “The government undertakes to declare the construction as a priority investment, so the investor will not have to take into account, for example, either the architectural or the environmental protection regulations, and the municipalities will lose it completely – and thus the living – their right from having any significant influence on the way in which the government transforms the affected city district. This is also why the LMP initiated a referendum on the abolition of special investment law provisions, but the ministry of János Lázár contested this at the Kúria.

Finally, they stated: “Zsolt Semjén’s draft law makes a mockery of our local government when he imposes such a law on Budapest 72 days before the municipal elections.” The population elects local city governments in order to represent the interests of those who live there, which is why we are also waiting for Alexandra Szentkirályi’s opinion regarding the planned investment.”

Dávid Vitézy: This is not right

Later, candidate for mayor Dávid Vitézy also reacted to the draft law: “Minister of Construction János Lázár submitted the maxi-Dubai draft law to the parliament. Based on this, Arab investors could build whatever and however they want in Budapest’s most valuable contiguous development area within the framework of an investment of national economic priority. Neither the height of the buildings, nor the functions of the buildings in the district, nor the necessary traffic and other infrastructural developments have even the minimum expected guarantees.”

The candidate for mayor stated that the government submitted the draft of the international agreement for social consultation in January, “in this regard, I summarized my professional position in detail – of course, not a single comment was included in the draft, not only from me, but also from the professional players or municipalities dealing with urban planning and the development of Budapest neither on his part”. He then presented his position in 5 points:

1. “The government gives the 130-hectare, half-a-district area to an Arab investor without competition, without requiring anything, expecting nothing, or recording anything about what would be built there. However, Budapest does not need another luxury shopping center and luxury residential areas, but a new affordable residential area and a new public park of urban importance.
2. It highlights the investment from the point of view of the national economy under all existing building regulations, so that the district and capital municipalities have no influence on the height of the buildings or the size and function of the blocks.
3. There are no guarantees for the necessary transport investments: the contract does not include the passage of tram number 3 over the new Szegedi út flyover (the document only talks about a road flyover), it does not provide for the necessary renovation and vehicle replacement of the Kisföldallatti (only the extension), and it does not include the Nyugati Railway station–Rákospalota–Újpest, a particularly busy, comprehensive development of the railway line that passes through here and the construction of the new station, that’s just “railway development”. Moreover, what is in it would not be paid by the Arab investors, but by the government – however, this is not acceptable, nor is it sufficient.
4. The airport railway would be taken to Rákosrendező instead of downtown and Nyugati – are the interests of Arab investors more important than those of tourists who are obviously looking for downtown and all of Budapest? This really makes no sense in the world from the point of view of transport policy and urban development.
5. All previous plans for the urban development of the Rákosrendező rust zone, including the one we did at BFK, counted on the establishment of a new public park of urban importance, at least 25 hectares, serving Zugló, Rákospalota, Angyalföld, next to the Railway History Park. There is no trace of this in the documents, this would also be an area that could be built on according to the contract. They only want to create a green area by covering the railway tracks – this makes no sense, covering a main railway line that also carries freight traffic is extremely expensive, and there will not be a full-fledged green area.”

“The past success stories of Budapest’s urban development were always based on the cooperation and coordination of private and public interests. This agreement is only about the private interests of Arab investors – this is not right,” he concluded his assessment.

Gergely Karácsony: Nothing about us, without us

After the candidate for mayor, the mayor Gergely Karácsony also shared his opinion on Facebook: “The violent state now wants to impose on Budapest an investment that serves private interests, destroys the cityscape, and exacerbates the housing and climate crisis.”

I can’t even count how many times the Prime Minister’s promise is being lied to with the bill submitted today: what Budapest doesn’t want, it won’t happen. Nothing about us, without us. This is what the Budapest Residents’ Assembly starting next week is about. Let’s remember: they also passed a law on Fudan, but Budapest stood up for itself, alongside the Student City, and they backed down.

According to Gergely Karácsony, this is still the task: “Let’s stand up for ourselves! Instead of mini-Dubai serving the luxury of the few, let’s stand for Parkváros, which provides affordable housing.”

(Cover photo: Emília Németh / Index)