At a celebratory event on Thursday, the flood control reservoir of Tiszasüly-Hany was handed over as the newest element of the Vásárhelyi Plan Improvement Programme.
The facility was constructed between July 2009 and September 2012 with the help of a financial aid worth 18.9 billion HUF, allocated by the European Union and the Hungarian state. The reservoir is capable of taking in 250 million cubic meters of water. The beneficiary of the financial aid was the General Directorate of Water Management.
At the closing ceremony, State Secretary for Municipal Affairs of the Ministry of Interior András Tállai said that the reservoir will protect 570 thousand people and 660 thousand acres of land.
The state secretary emphasized that natural disasters at the turn of the millennium showed that there is need for a new solution against floods since building higher ramparts is too expensive and require special technology. The Vásárhely Plan Improvement Programme has laid the new foundation of flood protection. During the first part of the programme, six reservoirs were designed. One was handed over in Czigánd in 2008 and another one in Tiszaroff in 2009.
In addition to the Hany-Tiszasüly facility, the implementation of the Nagykunság reservoir will be finished this year, whereas construction works of the Szamos-Kraszna and Bereg reservoirs are about to begin.
(Ministry of Interior)