The HUF 1,800 billion package announced by Gordon Bajnai, Minister of Economy, for the recovery of investments in the construction industry, is a part of the Hungarian package for economic recovery that is similar to its German, French and American counterparts and is also aimed at three basic targets:

• retaining domestic jobs;
• enabling domestic companies to get resources;
• reviving demand and investments.

Within the framework of the package for the recovery of investments, 636 big investment projects may be launched in the near future, the financial resources of which will come from development funds provided by the European Union. The project list includes in detail the invitation dates of public procurement tenders and the planned starting dates of actual works. The following investments may be launched under the program:

• construction of the missing part of the M4 highway in Pest-county,
• developing outpatient clinical services in the “Mezőcsát” small region, or
• reconstructing the Budapest-Székesfehérvár railway line and further 633 investments in the construction industry.

Gordon Bajnai, Minister of Economy, has informed the representatives of the construction industry of the details of the recovery package this day. As early as last November, the Ministry for National Development and Economy introduced a search service under the name of “Építőipari Piactér” (construction industry market place), which facilitates the searching and finding big public procurement projects financed by domestic resources in addition to the programs in the EU financing schemes. The current list is a specific project list made in the light of the needs of the construction industry, which, based on the starting dates announced by project hosts of the investments, enables companies in the construction industry to make plans for the next 18 months and beyond.

The projects figuring in the package for the recovery of investments can be found in a searchable database on the homepage of the National Development Agency, under “Építőipari Piactér”: http://www.nfu.hu/epitesugyi_kereso

Besides reviving investments, the Government has already implemented several measures from among the ones announced at the economic summit last November. The Government has already made over HUF 560 billion available in the form of special credit facilities, credit guarantees and interest subsidies through commercial banks and EU tenders to enable undertakings to survive. In addition, the Government has invited tenders for retaining jobs.

As a further market stimulus, HUF 100 billion are expected to go to the hosts of EU funded projects by March in increased advance payments under the scheme of the New Hungary Development Plan.

When markets show a temporary decline, the administration is ready to support wages along with the reduction of work-time to retain jobs. The schemes aimed at supporting the retaining of jobs generally give assistance to companies in adjusting their existing labor force capacity to the market demand without resorting to dismissals. When exempted from working, the employees take part in training courses, which improve their competence and competitiveness. The HUF 16 billion program already announced by the labor ministry may be complemented by HUF 20 billion from EU resources.

Due to EU tenders micro, small and medium enterprises may get more subsidies under more favorable conditions and more quickly than before. In return, however, they have to undertake to refrain from dismissing their employees or to maintain the change in their revenues in the bracket of the change in GDP.

As to the management of the 2009 crisis the Hungarian Government’s most important short-term task is to retain as many jobs as possible. To this end, in the past four months, it has made available its EU and other tenders for retaining jobs and financing undertakings in a value of more than HUF 560 billion. The same target is to be achieved by the program announced today for the recovery of investments by construction companies that have already lost markets and orders. The total value of said program is more than HUF 1,800 billion i.e. EUR 6 billion, for the next 18 months.