Sandstorm at the border of Apostag in Bács-Kiskun county – Photo: Sándor Ujvári / MTI
Overriding its previous decisions, the government is postponing three already promised investments, which would have replaced some of the missing water in several places in the area of the sand ridge between the Danube and Tisza, which is turning into a desert. With this, alleviating the problems of the area, which has been known to be dry for thirty years, and which is one-tenth of Hungary, has become further away.
There were press reports about the postponement of the planned investments, but it was not clear what works were being delayed and how much they cost. Telex’s question was answered by the Lower Tisza Region Water Directorate based on the information provided by the National Water Directorate General. Accordingly, the deferred investments are as follows:
- Replenishment of water in Mórahalom and its area, for the completion of which the 1449/2023. A government decision would have provided cover, HUF 2.1 billion.
- The other project is the “improvement and restoration of the water-deficient ecological condition of the sand ridge between the Danube and Tisza”, which would provide water replenishment in seven areas of the sand ridge. According to the plans, the water from the Danube and the Tisza would be delivered to the sand ridge through the installation of lifts and pumps, through the existing canals and a new network of pipes. The planning was completed last year. The cost of the investment divided into two parts would have been HUF 84 and HUF 312 billion. This was included in Government Decision 041/2024 (III.4).
On Thursday, we reported in a report about how farmers on the sand are trying to produce agriculture in the midst of increasingly dry and hot weather, while climate change is accelerating the transformation of the sand ridge into a desert.
So far, problems in the area have not been significantly alleviated, and now by postponing water replacement investments worth more than HUF 398 billion, the government continues to delay the start of the solution. The water experts wrote that they had no knowledge of whether the government wanted to cover these amounts together with European Union support or entirely from Hungarian state resources. On the other hand, it was reported that there was no date set in advance for the start of construction, and it is also not known when the start of the works will be postponed.
Telex considers it important to be able to deliver stories from the entire country to its readers, which is why we often publish rural reports. Since we cannot cover every region with our editorial office in Budapest, we are looking for cooperation with rural journalists, and we want to gradually build a national network of correspondents. This article was also created within the framework of such a collaboration.
