The interior renovation of the Parliament will not start, the Ministry of Construction and Investment told MTI on Thursday.

In the statement of the ministry, it was emphasised: due to the crisis caused by the sanctions and to preserve the budget balance, the government has suspended all investment projects which are not already under way. This includes the internal modernisation of the Parliament, they added.

According to the information, the government decision published in Wednesday's issue of Magyar Közlöny is not about the renovation of the Parliament, but about examining the possibilities of the interior renovation, which is expected to take several years. The government has decided that when it is financially possible, it will support the start of the internal reconstruction of the Parliament, which is outdated in many ways, they indicated.

Grand Staircase of the Parliament (Photo: Péter Bodó/pestbuda.hu)

The external renovation of the 120-year-old Parliament has been completed, but for it to be the home of the Hungarian legislature for the next 120 years, its energy, mechanical, security systems and electrical network must be urgently modernised, they pointed out.

For the professionals to start this work after the financial resources are available, it is necessary to prepare plans by the middle of 2023 for the possibilities of reconstruction. Until now, the internal, planned works of the Parliament building - although timely and necessary - "are still uncertain plans", the statement said.

Source: MTI

Cover photo: The Parliament building (Photo: Balázs Both/pestbuda.hu)