New state investments law to take effect in August

Hungary’s law on investments financed in at least 50 percent from budgetary and European Union funding will take effect on August 1, Construction and Transport Minister János Lázár told a press conference on Tuesday.

According to Lázár, state projects worth a combined HUF 5,500 billion (EUR 14.4m) were suspended in 2022, while other projects worth HUF 3,300 billion were concluded that year, and another 200 projects, worth HUF 1,300 billion, were being planned under the auspices of the construction ministry.

The law regulates “conditions and mechanisms of public spending . ensuring predictability for participants in construction projects, and aims to be sustainable and cost efficient with a low environmental impact,” Lázár said. He called the law “patriotic” as it promotes the involvement of Hungarian small and medium-size enterprises in state projects. He said the goal was to launch projects “using Hungarian materials and Hungarian entrepreneurs”.

The law was based on the principle that state projects should be launched under a central investment programme listing all projects to be implemented by each ministry until 2035, Lázár said. He added that all ministries were to submit a list of development projects they would want to implement in the next ten years.