Finance Ministry Vetoes Airport Land Purchase
State-owned Budapest Airport Rt. has to invalidate its contract with Carion group involving a HUF 4.7 billion land purchase deal, the Finance Ministry decided last Friday.
Carion bought former agricultural land for HUF 2,500-HUF 5,000 per square meter and sold it to Budapest Airport for HUF 24,000 per square meter with public utilities and building permits. Budapest Airport originally planned to build its new cargo base on the area.
Budapest Airport CEO János Hárskuti signed the contract after repeated approvals from Budapest Airport’s board and the board of State Privatization and Holding Rt. (ÁPV), Budapest Airport’s owner. However, directly preceding the signing of the contract, Hárskuti received a letter from Márton Vági, CEO of ÁPV, saying that Budapest Airport “should restrain from contracts involving land deals.” When asked if the ÁPV’s order referred to the contract with Carion, Hárskuti was informed by Vági that the order did not affect deals that have been approved earlier.