Orban’s Vision for Budapest Raises Fears Over a Historic Skyline
Local leaders say a UAE-backed development will bring modern high-rise offices and apartments that tower over one of Europe’s grandest capitals.
The Chain Bridge and Hungary's Parliament building from the Buda side of the Danube on March 9. The proposed development in partnership with the UAE would appear in the distance.
Photographer: Akos Stiller/BloombergThe swathe of railway tracks, rusting pylons, dilapidated yellow buildings and poisoned earth are a lingering reminder of Budapest’s time as part of the old Eastern bloc. Yet the area up the road from one of the Hungarian capital’s most iconic squares and thermal baths has also become the latest battleground for competing visions of the future.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government plans to turn the land into a €5.8 billion ($6.3 billion) Dubai-style hub and signed an agreement with the United Arab Emirates in March. Hungary’s parliament approved the project, and the rehousing of the few residents in the area has already started.