Hungary: Orbán associate and family benefit from major rail project
The renovation of the Budapest-Belgrade railway line is recognized as the most extensive railway development project in Hungary's history, and a part of China’s “One Belt, One Road” project. The modernisation project which started in 2019 will deliver a 350km-long double-track electrified high-speed railway network and enhance passenger services. It should half the travel time between the two capitals.
To finance it, the Hungarian government secured a substantial loan from China, the details of which are classified. According to a report in Hungary’s 444 website, however, the family and a close associate of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán are benefiting from the deal.
Lőrinc Mészáros, a prominent businessman and former Fidesz politician, is known to have his companies involved as general contractors alongside Chinese-owned firms. Mészáros, a former pipefitter and mayor of the village in which he and his friend Viktor Orbán grew up, has vast interests in Hungary’s business and media sectors.
Recent investigations have revealed that members of Orbán's immediate family are also benefiting from the railway renovations. Internal documents indicate that the Orbán family's mine has been supplying building materials for the project. The article in 444 claims that from 2022 to 2023, over 200,000 tons of railway stone were transported from Gánt, the Orbán family's mine, to the railway construction site. Additionally, some materials were ordered from Orbán's company by Mészáros.
It also claims that that the Chinese construction firm plans to enter into a contract worth HUF 1 billion for crushed stone sourced from Gánt. If accurate, this would be almost half the sum of over HUF 800 billion (USD2.3 billion) borrowed for the renovation. Despite the scale of the investment, questions have been asked in Hungary about the anticipated economic benefits.
ML. Sources: Reuters/444. Photo: Pixabay