5 March, 2021, Budapest - The leaders of the CELIZ (Záhony Logistics and Industrial Zone) Consortium and Rail Cargo Hungaria (RCH) confirmed the commitment of the two companies by signing a letter of intent in order to facilitate the management of Záhony Port LTD, more efficient management of increased Far-Eastern intermodal traffic. The event held online and was attended by László Mosóczi, State Secretary for Transport Policy of the Ministry of Innovation and Technology, and Róbert Homolya, President and CEO of MÁV.
The document was signed by CELIZ on behalf of the consortium leader MÁV-REC LTD, Norbert Csomós executive director, on behalf of RCH Norbert Körös CEO and Kotiers Romanian CFO, members of the Board of Directors. László Horváth Chairman and CEO of LAC Holding LTD, majority owner of MÁV-REC LTD joined the event online and praised the importance of the signature and Imre Kovács, Chairman of the Board of Rail Cargo Hungaria, member of the Board of Rail Cargo Group.
The leaders of the two companies agreed on that the volume of rail freight between China and Europe will increase significantly over the next decade. The Chinese industry has reached a level of development that allows it to export capacities - production lines, production technologies. The Far-Eastern country is increasingly trying to support its ability to become a high-tech superpower by exporting quality products and recognizing Chinese standards. Through the development of the logistics corridors of the Silk Road Economic Zone, it will also include its own less developed western and southwestern areas in the transcontinental traffic.
The national economy of Hungary can also benefit from this, in case a significant development of the transhipment infrastructure in Záhony will be realized. The availability of the capacity required for the arrival and logistics of Chinese goods in Europe plays a decisive role in the fact that the transport route of extraordinary quantities from the Far-East leads to the markets of the European Union partly through Hungary.
Speakers expressed their conviction that it is in the national economic interest for part of the growing trade between China and Europe to take place on the Mediterranean Railway Corridor No. 6, with Hungarian assistance. This will directly increase rail, customs and other logistics revenues from rail transport. An other important factor is that the increase in rail traffic contributes to reducing the environmental footprint of freight.
Simultaneously with the signing of the letter of intent, the leaders of the two companies decided to review their future cooperation opportunities, stating that if a favorable outcome is reached, they will conclude a cooperation agreement by 15 April 2021.