Fun fact about Budapest: both the city’s cathedral and parliament building are exactly 96 metres high, originally built that way to represent the equal role that the church and the state play in Hungarian society.
However, if proposals laid out by Eagle Hills Properties – a UAE-based company which has just acquired 85 hectares of derelict land in Budapest – go ahead, the city’s skyline could be in for a complete overhaul.
Rákosrendező is an area of Budapest near a severely rundown railway station, but it’s now the focus of an agreement between the Hungarian government and the UAE, where the latter has agreed to invest €5 billion into creating a swanky new modern district.
It’s been nicknamed ‘mini-Dubai’, but will now be run under the name ‘Grand Budapest’, and includes the construction of a road overpass over a pedestrian and railway crossing, a new railway track, an extension of the M1 metro line, a cycle lane, a pedestrian zone and roofing for the train line to build a carpark on top.
Then there’s the promise of 35-40 hectares of parks and public spaces, including schools, sports and community facilities – check out the project’s webpage here.
According to Hungary Today, plans presented by Eagle Hills include buildings between 250 and 500 metres tall, which could become the tallest structures in Europe (even taller than the Empire State Building). But not everyone’s happy about the proposal – Budapest’s Ministry of Construction and Transport has stated they ‘do not support’ the construction of these massive new skyscrapers.
Local pushback doesn’t end there. Officials plan to invoke a pre-emptive right to acquire the land, arguing that its value exceeds the developer’s purchase price, and the mayor of Budapest has called on Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to prioritise affordable housing over luxury skyscrapers, according to Bloomberg. Watch this space for further developments.
In the meantime, here’s our recently updated guide on the best things to do in Budapest.
Did you see that France was once again the world’s most visited country last year?
Plus: A brand-new high-speed train will soon connect these two major European cities.
Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out Travel newsletter for all our latest travel news and best stuff happening across the world.