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PM Orbán inaugurates new bridge between Hungary and Slovakia

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was joined by Slovak counterpart Robert Fico to lay the cornerstone for a new bridge joining Hungarian town Komárom and Slovakia’s Komarno

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was joined by Slovak counterpart Robert Fico yesterday to lay the cornerstone for a new bridge joining Hungarian town Komárom and Slovakia’s Komarno.

The new bridge will cross the Danube and be built west of the railway bridge to relieve downtown Komárom and Komarno of traffic.

The construction will provide direct access from Hungary’s M1 motorway to the border and considerably reduce the noise and environmental pollution of residential areas.

According to MTI, the bridge will be constructed by a consortium of Hídépitő and Mészáros and Mészáros, using a budget of 28.6 billion HUF (91.2m EUR). It will be Slovakia’s second largest bridge when completed in autumn 2019.

“This bridge will be the symbol of the way we protect the outer borders of Europe and keep the inner ones open," PM Orbán said at the ceremony.

The prime minister said Visegrad cooperation rests on strong foundations because its leaders always think beyond their countries in regional terms.

“It is our conviction that anyone planning and acting in central Europe will work to the benefit of all four Visegrad countries and of the whole of Europe,” he said. The prime minister added that further links along the Hungary-Slovakia border could make both countries even more successful.