European development funds could fall at Budapest airport
At Liszt Ferenc Airport, the dissatisfaction of the people living in the area increased year by year in parallel with the increase in traffic. A major airport expansion project has been launched, with a total cost of an estimated HUF 225 billion, paid by the European Investment Bank (EIB) for EUR 200 million (almost HUF 74 billion at today’s exchange rate). writes Telex.
A decision has now been taken on this funding through the bank’s grievance mechanism, which, according to the complainants’ organizations, will stop the disbursement of the remaining money (about a third of the total amount).
as long as Budapest Airport fulfills certain obligations, which does not provide the bank with a preliminary assessment of the combined environmental impact of the project elements and investments increasing the airport’s capacity increase.
The grievance mechanism also expects the investor to respond to concerns about the quality of life of residents in the area (and Budapest in general). According to the airport, funding is not a suspension, “the EIB will only come up with a new procedural proposal for airport investments”.
Two NGOs came to the conclusion that the approval of a loan for a large-scale airport development project by the European Investment Bank ignored several important aspects. According to the Hungarian Association of Nature Conservationists (MTVSZ) and the Association for Cultured Aviation (KLKE), an incomprehensible impact assessment concerns the consequences of enlargement in terms of climate, noise and air pollution, and the opinion of those living in the area has not been sufficiently channeled into the process. . .