Modernization of Hungary’s Transport Network
Modernization of Hungary’s Transport Network
The process of transition to a market economy in the Central and Eastern European region and the world-wide globalization of production and trade require connections between the transport networks throughout the entire continent. As a country in transition and situated in a nodal point of the Pan-European Corridors, Hungary is making significant efforts in order to restructure its transport system. As much as 1.5 to 1.7% of the country’s GDP is envisaged to be devoted in the long term to transport infrastructure development. Due to the industrial and commercial restructuring of transportation, road transport has taken over the first place from railways. In 1999 a new ten-year motorway development plan was adopted by the Government of Hungary in which the experience obtained so far in the field of private capital investment has also been considered.
In 2000, the dynamic performance of the Hungarian economy resulted in continuous development. GDP growth in the first semester exceeded 6% Although the influx of foreign direct investment (FDI) was slower than in the previous year, the rate of FDI in Hungary was USD 2,058 per capita at the end of 1999, which is the highest among the Central and Eastern European countries. Hungary is followed by the Czech Republic with an FDI of USD 1,359 per capita.
Inflation for the year 2000 was originally envisaged at six percent, however, it could reach 8 or 9% by late this year due to increased gasoline prices, which keep the whole world economy under pressure.
In the first half of the year, export/import turnover realized dynamic growth, though highly processed goods (making up more than 20% of the engineering industry’s exports) also had a considerable impact on transport demands. The output of goods transport increased by 2.9% in the first half of 2000. At the same time, that of public transport increased by 1.7%.
Changes in the Transport Sector
The Transformation of Transport Projects in Hungary
Development Priorities of Individual Sub-Sectors in Hungary
Road
Railway Transport
Inland Water Transport
Air Transport
Community Support
