A New “Millenium City Center” to Be Built in Budapest

A new “millennium city center” will be created in the area of the Rákosrendező railway station, on an area of about 130 hectares (1.3 million square meters) that will elevate Budapest to the ranks of modern world cities, Minister of Construction and Transport János Lázár announced at a press conference on Monday.

He said that negotiations are underway with the world’s most important real estate developers, with foreign investors planning to develop the site, currently owned by the state, for around EUR 5 billion. The state has committed to investing around EUR 1 billion in public transport infrastructure, including the extension of the M1 metro and the development of around four to five public transport hubs.

The government expects that the inter-state agreement with a private investor regulating the details of the project could be signed in the second half of 2024, and the project could be completed in three to four years, or by the end of the decade at the latest.

“We would extend Andrássy Avenue. It would create the capital’s most important axis, a new millennium city center after the old one, by developing the Rákosrendező station,” he said. This 130-hectare contiguous site in the heart of Budapest on the border of the 13th and 14th districts, is an illegal landfill at this moment, he added. The government has proposed a joint development of the site with private investors, he noted.

In the development concept, the area would be divided into two parts. A total of about 900,000 square meters could be developed for community and private use.

Within this area, 600-650,000 square meters would be developed by the foreign investor, including office buildings, apartments, and commercial properties, while another 250-350,000 square meters would be used for the creation of Budapest’s new largest and most modern public park.

János Lázár stressed that the government is insisting on the creation of quality green space and expects much greener construction than any previous real estate development.

The rest of the area, some 300-350,000 square meters, would continue to be available for rail transport.

“A new station will have to be built and the M1 metro line will have to be extended,” the Minister said. As he explained, the government is negotiating with some of the best, strongest, and most important real estate developers in the world, investors who have already “created a world city from scratch.”

Via MTI, Featured image: Pixabay