In the presence of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the last section of the 125 km long M44 motorway between the M5 motorway and Szentkirály was inaugurated on Tuesday.
The new section, which is more than 30 kilometres long, will enable drivers to travel directly from Kecskemét to Békéscsaba. In his speech, Orbán declared that Fidesz had created ‘a government of road construction’ and had thus doubled the state’s assets within 15 years.
The completion of the entire M44 motorway is an important milestone in the development of the country’s transport infrastructure. Traffic between Kecskemét and Békéscsaba will be faster and safer, and the new section of road will also significantly relieve the surrounding side roads. The M44 will bring more opportunities, more jobs; the country’s last great labour reserve is in Békés County, and the aim is to create opportunities here too.
The government previously decided that all county towns should be accessible via a motorway. In recent years, Eger, Szolnok, Salgótarján, Sopron and Kaposvár have been connected to the motorway network. With the opening of the M44 motorway, Békéscsaba is now also ‘joining the club’. The M1, M3 and M7 motorways will be expanded to three lanes over the next few years, and the M8 motorway will be built so that it will be possible to travel between western and eastern Hungary without having to drive through Budapest.
Following the inauguration of the latest section of the M44 motorway, Orbán held talks with Péter Szarvas, Mayor of the county town, at Békéscsaba Town Hall. They reviewed the economic and transport development plans of Békéscsaba, in particular the tasks related to the extension of the M44 motorway to the state border and the construction of the section of the M47 motorway between Békéscsaba and Debrecen. Orbán emphasised that the government’s aim is to create a new economic area in the Békéscsaba-Debrecen-Nagyszalonta triangle by expanding the M44 and M47 motorways.
