The construction of a new bridge over the Danube River near the Hungarian town of Mohács, with a budget of 389 billion forints, has sparked considerable discussion among policymakers and citizens alike.

The project, which aims to connect a still-under-construction Serbian fast route with Hungary's M6 highway, is poised to reroute significant truck traffic, potentially increasing toll revenues for the Hungarian state.

At a recent press briefing titled 'Transport Info', held on January 8, 2025, Hungary's Minister of Construction and Transport, János Lázár, addressed inquiries about the necessity of the Mohácsi Duna Bridge.

Lázár emphasized that this infrastructure would serve as a crucial link between Serbia's developing expressway—referred to colloquially as 'Vajdaság mosolya' or 'Smile of Vojvodina’—and the existing M6 motorway in Hungary, thereby attracting a portion of the Balkan's freight traffic.

This ambitious endeavor comprises three primary components: a new bridge spanning the Danube, a dual carriageway connecting westward to the M6, and a single-lane road extending eastward to route 51, a 19-kilometer stretch.

Designed to accommodate vehicular traffic and cyclists, the bridge features a series of two floodplain bridges and a main channel bridge measuring 756 meters in total length.

Critics point out several perplexing aspects of the project.

The bridge will connect Mohács, with a population of 17,000, to Újmohács, home to merely 700 residents.

Meanwhile, Budapest, the nation's 1.7 million-inhabitant capital, faces delayed infrastructure projects due to budgetary constraints, such as the stalled Galvani Bridge.

Additionally, existing bridges in the region—such as those in Baja and Szekszárd—serve vital transit routes, suggesting that the new Mohács bridge might not see heavy local use.

In response to these concerns, Lázár defended the project's priority status by outlining its potential to improve connectivity for freight traffic from the Balkans, offering an alternative route to the congested M5 motorway and Croatia's A3 highway for travel to Western Europe.

However, the justification for this massive investment remains shrouded in mystery due to the Hungarian Ministry of Construction and Transport's refusal to release the project's feasibility study, citing confidential data protection.

Intriguingly, Lázár himself had previously instructed the development of an alternate route linked to the M9 motorway at Szekszárd, which would have connected to Serbia via a new border crossing at Tompa, now rendered obsolete by the Moháč's routing.

The economic rationale behind this bridge, proponents argue, hinges on redirecting truck traffic to the underused M6 motorway.

Conceptualized by previous administrations, the M6 was constructed through public-private partnerships, leading to substantial operational losses for the government due to minimal traffic.

In 2023 alone, the state incurred a 55 billion forint deficit in operational fees, an unfortunate trend persisting annually.

The Hungarian government places high importance on this initiative, seeking to bolster state revenues through increased toll collection, with Lázár projecting national toll incomes to potentially double from the current 600 billion forints annually.

Nonetheless, the success of the Mohács bridge hinges on a series of uncertainties.

The completion of Serbia's Vojvodina expressway, being developed in collaboration with Chinese partners and scheduled for completion by 2028, is still pending.

Furthermore, the ability to convincingly divert freight traffic away from well-established routes like the M5 and A3 remains to be demonstrated, pending clarity on the project's feasibility outcomes withheld from the public discourse by the ministry.