The Civil Forum Debrecen Egyesület is recommending to the city government the suspension of the investment of the Chinese battery factory planned to be built in the southern industrial zone of Debrecen – announced the president of the organization and the local government representative at a press conference in the city of Cívis on Wednesday.
Gondola Zsolt Zoárd said that the surveys so far and the prevailing public mood in the city indicate that the majority of the population opposes the implementation of the plant, which is considered dangerous.
He pointed out that their organization has interviewed 4,600 people so far, and 72 percent of them do not want the battery factory, three-quarters of those who participated in a local internet poll rejected the construction, and at Monday’s public forum organized by the municipality, more than eight hundred people rejected the investment with a loud statement of opinion.
Based on this, they recommend to the city administration: to suspend the preparation of the investment until they are informed about the position of the people of Debrecen through further public forums, social consultations, or local referendums, and based on this, they decide whether to continue the investment or stop it completely – said Gondola Zsolt Zoárd. He noted: the Civil Forum Debrecen Egyesület considers that “if the investment continues, we will drift towards a local political crisis since you don’t have to be a visionary to perceive that this will also cause problems at the level of local communities”.
László Papp (Fidesz-KDNP), the mayor of Debrecen and the disaster prevention, environmental protection, water and security experts present at the forum on Monday evening made it clear: the planned investment complies with the strictest official regulations in all respects, “CATL’s investment in Debrecen does not mean either individual or social risk”.
The Hajdú-Bihar County Government Office will also hold a public hearing on the matter on January 20 as part of the environmental use permit procedure for the future factory.
Levente Magyar, the Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry of Trade and Foreign Affairs (KKM) announced on August 12 last year that the largest investment in Hungary’s history to date will take place in Debrecen, where China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL), the world’s largest battery manufacturer, will create the second its European plant worth about HUF 3,000 billion.
MTI
