Police investigation launched into unfinished “Design Terminál” project

The Hungarian police last month launched an official investigation in relation to the “Design Terminál” – a planned center for innovation and design on Budapest’s Erzsébet tér, hirszerzo.hu reports. According to documents created during an internal investigation, there were errors or malfeasances committed at every step of the project, which seeks to “repurpose” a historic (and legally protected) bus terminal in the central square built in 1949 and used until the early 2000s.

The contracts the Központi Szolgáltatási Főigazgatóság (Central Services Directorate; KSZF) – which sits under the Prime Minister’s Office (MeH) and acted as operator of the project – signed with contractors are said to make it impossible for the contractors to be held responsible for problems with the projects. In addition, the KSZF paid for work that was not performed, then issued manadates for completing the same work.

The Design Terminál was initially planned to be built at a cost of Ft 450 million and opened in 2006. It has still not been completed, and the amount spent on it has officially exceeded Ft 900 million, while unofficial sources say Ft 1 billion (over €3.7 million) has been paid out.