Lajos Kósa: it is not enough to survive, Debrecen is destined for more than that!
Lajos Kósa gave an anniversary interview to Hajdú Online, in which he discussed, among other things, the need for transport development, the housing problems in Debrecen, and the construction of the CATL factory. The member of parliament said about the following year: there is plenty of work to be done; now, according to his opinion, the people of Cívisváros are satisfied with the city administration and the representatives working for Debrecen.
We didn’t have an easy year. The Russian-Ukrainian war broke out in February, the election took place at the beginning of April, and we have been facing an energy crisis for months. In light of all this, how do you see Debrecen’s life in 2022?
An important thing happened right at the beginning of the year, as we won the first individual Olympic gold in our lives. This is how the year began, and that gold was won by a university student from Debrecen, Liu Shaoang, Ádó. With this, the University of Debrecen now has two Olympic champions, who became Olympic champions when he was a student here. Of course, the election campaign was raging in the meantime, where there was quite a fierce struggle, and the war broke out in the meantime, which has an influence on the life of the whole of Europe. Due to the war and sanctions, there is an amazing energy price explosion and inflation. However, the Debrecen economy continued to perform extremely well. Many people, especially the opposition, said that the construction of the BMW factory in Debrecen would stop, and that it would not even be finished. In the meantime, it turns out that progress is being made, and the company group has even announced another large-scale investment. In the meantime, we will become the stronghold of electric car production in Europe, which of course requires the production of batteries. The two go hand in hand, and of course in such a way that all investors – be they German, South Korean, Chinese or even Hungarian – have to comply with extremely strict environmental protection regulations. So that Debrecen or the population in the area should not suffer disadvantages, therefore from an environmental point of view. The big developments, we have started, are either continuing or have been completed. We inaugurated the Csokonai Forum with a fantastic performance, and the renovation of the Csokonai Theater is in full swing. We have completed the Green City programs and are continuing them, as well as the Civaqua program. A new investor came into Loki’s life, with whom we were able to stabilize the team’s situation, our hockey team won the cup, so life is going on as it should in a big city. Thanks to the trust of the people of Debrecen, representatives of the Fidesz-KDNP won all three districts in the spring election, and we will continue working for the people of Debrecen with full force.
When the CATL factory and environmental protection are mentioned, we can’t help but hear voices of distrust and indignation.
The left opposition is working. Since 1998, they have opposed all existing urban development investments. Be it cultural, see Kölcsey Center, be it the swimming pool, athletic stadium, investment in the main square, western relief road, or highway construction. They were against everything imaginable. It is so obvious that they also oppose battery production. they started the counter-campaigns when no data was available about what the investor wanted to do. They came with such that there will be a lot of lithium poisoning. I am dying to see that more pencil batteries are now being disposed of in municipal waste than will be lost in connection with production. None of the parameters were known when they started yelling. We will run out of drinking water, they said. We will not run out of drinking water, not least because in connection with its production, if possible, we will ask the manufacturer to use gray water.
Several unstarted developments are currently being postponed, based on the government decision in the branch, the planned transport investment in Debrecen. Therefore, we experience firsthand that there is still work to be done in terms of transport development.
It is always there in traffic, see Eastern Bypass. But we have not given up on these, the plans are ongoing. The planning and preparation of the urban introduction section of the 471 is underway. We have suspended the investments that we have not yet started for a year, that of construction, that the Brussels sanctions policy actually caused a completely forced crisis, not only here, but everywhere. In such cases, be careful! We will finish the started developments, this is also the case in Debrecen. Of course, transport improvements do not necessarily happen overnight, because a transport intervention in the life of a city lasts for 50 years. The city is now preparing the track for the triple tramway, because we want to modernize the transport so that electric traction takes precedence. The tram has two great advantages: it is independent of city traffic jams and, with its capacity, it can carry many more passengers than a bus.
However, we now see that the city is drowning at the peak.
Yes, we see it, but you should also know that the increase in traffic is many times the increase in road network capacity. All cities suffer from this. What is our answer? Development of the tram and bicycle path network. There is a connected cycle path from Józsa to the Great Church, which can be cycled comfortably in 20 minutes. Let’s try to give answers to the challenges, we are the only big city where we consider parking as part of the transport system, and our transport company operates it, precisely so that the parking operators and the transport company do not have separate interests. There is still a lot of development in the city, transport is highlighted from this point of view. Both the city management and the representatives constantly consult with the government, because the industrial development taking place here is by far the size that the city has to handle on its own, and strong government assistance. It is a lot of work, but the development of Debrecen has been recognized on an international level in itself. Debrecen is on the path that we embarked on together with the people of Debrecen in ’98. We want to be the leading city in the country, next to the capital, this entails many problems, there is no doubt about that. I can list our many development plans and opportunities for the future. The municipal election will be held in a year and a half, then it will be possible to measure again whether the people of Debrecen agree with this or not. In the elections in April, it seems that they agree with him, by the way, the dollar left clearly stands up there as well, they imagine their work in a kind of international, American interest system, and we are absolute local patriots.
In relation to investments, it is also worth addressing housing issues. The square meter prices are very high in the city of Cívis, even in national terms.
The fact that house prices are high in Debrecen is both positive and negative. This is good for those who have an apartment in Debrecen. The vast majority of people live in their own apartment, it is their property. If housing prices increase in Debrecen, it means that his wealth increases. Compare that to what it’s like to live in a place where housing prices are falling. It should also be seen that housing prices in Debrecen are fueled by several things. On the one hand, it is home to one of the largest universities in the country, and students are also in huge demand for sublets and apartments. On the other hand, they also build and buy apartments for investment purposes, and otherwise there is a huge demand. Thirdly, the internal mobility trend has been noticeable for some time now, that some of the people of Debrecen are moving out to the suburbs; you have to see that the population of Hajdúsámson has doubled in the last twenty years. But we can mention Mikepércs, Ebe, Bocskaikert, Hajdúhadház. People move to Debrecen only from the more distant regions, i.e. Szabolcs-Szatmár, Békés and Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok counties. If we look at the demographic movements and internal mobility mechanisms, we see that, looking at Debrecen and its surroundings together, the population is growing here in a country with a declining population. This means that there is a demand for Debrecen. That alone drives up prices. This is further enhanced by the fact that the industrial development in Debrecen makes the city attractive.
Who should answer this situation?
This can be handled in a number of ways. On the one hand, in long-term urban planning, areas must be developed, opened, and regulated where people have the opportunity to build and prosper on their own, and on the other hand, the city itself came up with developments in Tócóvölgy, for example. I see that both Debrecen and non-Debrecen housing development capital are noticing this and moving. After this, the city is involved in garden regulations and coverings, but here comes the fact that the infrastructural development and construction of this is very expensive. When we develop, when we move forward, problems always arise. There is a city with county status where, according to surveys, 70 percent of its residents say they would move if they could. Although there may not be a problem there, what kind of traffic growth is associated with industrial development. In this sense, we are on the right track, because it is not interesting not to have problems, but to be able to respond to them in a meaningful way. originally in the infrastructure development of Debrecen, in the 1960s and 1970s, the city was sized for 300,000 people, but now it has a population of 250,000 during the day, and about 230-220 at night. This must be served in infrastructure. But so far the city can handle it. The current city administration is fighting for a clear, common goal with representatives, people working for the city, and offices, and I see that this is happening to the satisfaction of the people of Debrecen. The city is developing at a fast pace, and we want to continue and maintain it. The people of Debrecen already know what we know, they see what we represent. The Fidesz-KDNP city government has brought this 24 years so far, and we want to continue this.
What will be the biggest task in Debrecen in 2023?
The pace and direction of development that the city has maintained so far must be maintained with extremely smart management. This in itself will not be easy, because many people now say that we should survive. But survival is not enough in such a case, we have to pursue a policy that allows us to maintain the acceptance and naturalization of large investments, and in parallel with these, we must also progress in other areas of life, whether in education or health care. And the city lives its life, the people of Debrecen must be served, and what they want must be observed. There is plenty of work to do. The year 2023 will be a year of struggle, but I claim that simply saying that we are just surviving is not enough. Debrecen is destined for more than this.
Little Dora