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BUDAPEST CITY COUNCIL ALLOCATES HUF 1BN FOR FLOOD PROTECTION

The municipal assembly of Budapest decided to contribute another one billion forints (EUR 3m) to flood protection works in District 3 in the city’s north.

The council decided to increase the budget for the complex project after changes in the plans necessitated by further inspection of the project sites.

In the debate over the proposal, Socialist deputy Csaba Horváth called it “strange” that the deficiencies had not been detected earlier, adding that the designs had not been made with due professional care.

Márta V. Naszályi of the opposition Párbeszéd party said it was “not just an error” in the designs but “a level of chaotic preparations aimed at wasting public funds”.

Budapest Mayor István Tarlós said the assembly sought to “provide maximum funding so as not to pass further decisions again and again” and added that “the larger part of the [HUF 1 bn] sum would be saved”.

Meanwhile civil activists held up signs in the assembly hall demanding that local residents should be consulted over the contested project.