The European Union strongly supports the development of the Trans-European Transport Network. Motorway M3, today of 280 km already, opens up transport and economic relations towards the East as part of Pan-European Transport Corridor No. 5, extending from Venice via Budapest to Kiev.

While it took drivers over 4 hours to reach the capital from Vásárosnamény some 15 years ago, travel time has been shortened by one and a half hours by today, as a result of government supported continuous development. In Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County, the dual two-lane motorway has been extended by 45.7 km in the past four years.

The development worth over HUF 55 billion was performed in two phases: it was the 33.8 km section between Nyíregyháza and Trunk Road 49 that was completed first and opened for use in January 2013. Ófehértó Motorway Engineering, established as a part of the whole project, employs staff of the public road operator company and the motorway police.

Through the inauguration of the motorway section, not only the Ukrainian border and, together with that, the Lower Carpathians and their Hungarian inhabitants have got a significant step closer to the central part of Hungary but the eastern, border region of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County may become a more attractive place of investment as well, Minister of National Development Miklós Seszták pointed out.

New workplaces may be created, the products produced here will have easier access to markets and tourism may pick up. The new government decided on the continuation of the project at its first session, Miklós Seszták recalled: from Vásárosnamény to Záhony, a new dual two-lane expressway is to be constructed, plans for which are to be made soon. This decision means that the government is to open the country’s gates towards the East, the Minister said.

Head of Communications of the National Infrastructure Development Ltd. Dániel Loppert added: “This 11.9 km section was completed by just 160 people, with 450 machines, in just 350 work days. The section includes, among others, 4 overhead crossings, 2 wildlife passages, wildlife protection fence along almost 2 km and crash barriers of 31 km. The development of the section between Trunk Road 49 and Vásárosnamény was implemented by M3 KRASZNA 2012 Consortium for a net sum of HUF 15.4 billion, 85% of which were financed from EU and 15% from state funds.”

Source: Ministry of National Development