New airport development announced for Székesfehérvár

E-med bus, equipped as a doctor’s office, will start running in the Hungarian city

Börgönd Airport in Székesfehérvár, one of the oldest airports in Hungary, will undergo complete renovation and will become a civil airport for small business and sports aircraft.

The Minister of Innovation and Technology László Palkovics broke the news on Saturday during a tour of Székesfehérvár in the company of Mayor András Cser-Palkovics and the Member of Parliament Tamás Vargha, all of them members of the ruling Fidesz party.

Drone development concept

Minister Palkovics, quoted by the city website and hirado.hu, stressed that the conversion of the airport will also enable it to serve flight training purposes and testing of drones for use in transport, agriculture and weather forecasting. He said that the government has already allocated HUF 750 million (EUR 2.08m) for the preparation and planning of the development which is included in the Modern Cities Programme.

The process is not expected to hit snags as the airport is fully owned by the municipality of Székesfehérvár in terms of real estate. Plans are also underway for an industrial park to be established as an integral part of the airport.

László Palkovics also talked about how the development of the University of Óbuda's Székesfehérvár campus is related to airport investments. 30 billion of the HUF 1,500 billion national university development package will be used to establish a technology research centre, with one affiliate located at the university and the other in Börgönd, where the focus will be on aviation research and development. 

Green Bus programme

During a visit to the Ikarus plant, the attention shifted to the electric bus currently being tested in everyday traffic in Székesfehérvár. The Minister recalled that from 2022, big cities in Hungary will only be able to place electric or emission-free buses in public transport. He assured that a subsidy concept is being developed that will in no way burden municipalities with the procurement of environmentally-friendly vehicles.

The Mayor added that under a tender to be agreed, 12 electric buses may run in the city next year. Also, as part of the Green Bus programme, an e-med bus will be set up to serve as a mobile doctor's office equipped with screening and other devices.

Railway development

Discussing railway transport, László Palkovics noted that Székesfehérvár will benefit from the development of the railway freight ring which connects Záhony with Győr via Börgönd, enabling a massive flow of goods between the east and the west of the country. The planned Budapest-Belgrade railway line would also be connected to this ring. In the next ten years, the Hungarian government will allocate approximately HUF 2,000 billion for the development of the railway rolling stock and approximately HUF 4,000 billion for the transport infrastructure.