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SZIJJÁRTÓ ATTENDS V-HÍD ÉPÍTŐ ANNIVERSARY

 

A strong national economy requires strong domestic companies, the foreign minister said at a ceremony marking the 5th anniversary of construction firm V-Híd Építő in Debrecen, in eastern Hungary.
In his address, Péter Szijjártó said that “a national economy could only be built on national foundations rather than on the basis of class struggle”. He said that “while we are on government left-liberal groups will equally receive all assistance such as the ventures of Tamás Leisztinger or János Kóka, but we will not discriminate against businesses clearly associated with the national, conservative camp”.
The Hungarian government aims to use the country’s geographical potential and develop one of central Europe’s most modern transportation networks, Szijjártó said, adding that “incessant railway development” was needed to retain investors. He also added that the government was planning to spend a total 5,000 billion forints (EUR 13.7bn) on road and rail projects by 2024, including 300 billion forints in 2020.
Lőrinc Mészáros, the owner of V-Híd Építő, praised Hungary’s construction industry as “closing a gap of 100 years compared to other countries just in the past 30 years”. He said that the past decade had seen real development in construction, where “a lot of successful businesses grew up”. Currently 60-70% of the domestic market is served by Hungarian companies, up from a ratio of 5-10% earlier. He said it was a “misconception” that “Hungarian businesses get contracts automatically” and insisted that each job is awarded in tenders.
László Palkovics, the innovation and technology minister, praised V-Híd Építő as a success story, a company which has participated in a number of railway projects. The company, employing 300 people, has become a dominant market player, the minister added.
V-Híd Építő posted revenues of nearly 33.8 billion forints last year, and is currently engaged in the renovation of the Debrecen-Füzesabony railway line to serve a new BMW car factory in the city.