A run-down Budapest travel hub will soon receive a Dubai-style makeover after Hungary and the United Arab Emirates inked a $5.5 billion deal to redevelop the neighborhood.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto signed the deal Wednesday with UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani Al Zeyoudi, according to Bloomberg.
Szijjarto said Eagle Hills Properties LLC will work with the government in Budapest to revamp the partially abandoned Rakosrendezo railway station.
Janos Lazar, construction and transportation minister, last year said the Hungarian government would pay about $1 billion for infrastructure improvements in the area. Prime Minister Viktor Orban initially proposed the construction of a major building project similar in opulence and scale to those of Dubai, Lazar said at the time.
According to Bloomberg, the city government criticized the new plans for the railway station and surrounding area as discordant with the historic skyline for which Budapest is known.
Based in Abu Dhabi, Eagle Hills is one of the largest developers in the Gulf region, with a portfolio of projects across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. It has developed mixed-use properties in Albania, Serbia, and Ethiopia, and has been expanding in countries in need of new homes and offices, according to Bloomberg.
Eagle Hills' leader Mohamed Alabbar, also founded Emaar Properties PJSC, which constructed Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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