The key takeaway from the professional conference held in Rádpuszta on December 11, 2025, was that decision-makers do not view the development of Southern Transdanubia through 2030 as a series of isolated, but rather as a large-scale, coordinated regional transformation.
The stated goal—that Southern Transdanubia should become one of the country’s most attractive major regions by 2030—is not in itself a measure, but based on what was said at the conference, it is clear what tools they intend to use to “translate” this into practical action: a regional spatial development strategy is being prepared, the new spatial development law provides a separate planning level for this, and the Competitive Districts Program promises a concrete implementation framework for all of this in the short term.
Dr. Judit Czunyiné Bertalan, State Secretary for Regional Development at the Ministry of Public Administration and Regional Development, essentially conveyed the following message at the conference (and in related statements): the strategy is only worthwhile if it is not drafted by a single department but is based on collective thinking, and if the region’s stakeholders agree on the same priorities as their guiding principles. The rationale behind this idea is very pragmatic. The problems listed by the State Secretary—shortages in public services, limited job opportunities, an aging population, and deficiencies in transportation infrastructure—are all factors that immediately appear as risks in an investment decision: is there an adequate workforce available, does commuting work, is there an acceptable service infrastructure for families, and how predictable is the region’s logistics. At the conference, these transportation topics were accompanied by more specific issues, such as the strain on rail capacity and the lack of bicycle connections between towns, as well as the strain on the social services system—meaning that the development agenda includes not only “roads and industrial zones” but also the less visible systemic conditions necessary for livability.
The message of the conference can be seen as a turning point because the solution is not expected to come from a single major investment, but rather from the simultaneous advancement of the subsystems that define the region’s functioning: mobility improves, the service infrastructure stabilizes, and settlements do not attempt to develop in parallel with one another, but rather complement one another. This approach is further reinforced by the fact that Act CII of 2023 on Regional Development establishes the “metaregional regional development strategy” as a distinct concept, which specifically serves as a framework for coordinated planning that transcends county boundaries. In other words: the “metropolitan area” is not a marketing label, but a planning level whose specific task is to bring together the separate county-level approaches and align them toward a common direction.
Among future measures, the Competitive Districts Program appears to be the tool that will yield the fastest results for the region in the short term, as the program is specifically designed to build on local, district-level cooperation and establishes the initial framework based on a national logic: for districts headquartered in cities with county-level status, the starting point is funding in the range of 500 million forints, while for other districts, it is 250 million forints. This alone does not solve everything, but it is suitable for municipalities to jointly launch prioritized that serve multiple locations simultaneously—such as transportation, public space, service organization, or local infrastructure projects that directly improve the region’s functionality and, by extension, the investment environment.
Based on the logic presented at the conference, it follows that the development of South Transdanubia by 2030 will become a realistic prospect only if the strategy and the funding side work toward the same “formula”: first, missing links and bottlenecks are resolved (connectivity, commuting, accessibility), while simultaneously the service infrastructure that ensures quality of life is strengthened (without which the workforce cannot be retained), and then the next wave of economic development can build on these—with industrial settlements, the expansion of suppliers, and the strengthening of tourism and local economic value chains. The idea presented at the conference—that the arrival of a major employer can trigger a “pull effect”—fits into this system: anchor investment alone is rarely enough, but if it comes with improved accessibility, an organized labor market catchment area, and stable services, then the settlement of suppliers and related service providers can indeed accelerate.
In summary: the lesson from the Rádpuszta conference is not that everything will change overnight, but rather that the development policy for Southern Transdanubia is clearly shifting toward large-scale regional cooperation, and the strategic framework (macro-regional strategy), the legal-regional coordination logic (new regional development regulations), and the possibility of rapid, county-level interventions (Competitive Counties Program) are now being built simultaneously to support this.
If these strands truly converge, by 2030 the region will be able to present itself not only with more development opportunities, but also with more predictable operations and greater retention capacity—which ultimately means the same thing for both local communities and investors: less friction, more stability, and stronger, network-oriented regional growth.
Source of the article: KaposPont
