Dolomit Ltd, a company majority-owned by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's father, Gyozo Orban, supplied over 200,000 tonnes of railway stone for the Budapest-Belgrade railway project between 2022 and 2023, reportedly at above-market prices, according to internal documents obtained by 444.hu.

The Budapest-Belgrade railway upgrade, Hungary's largest railway project, is part of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Its goal is to improve trade and transportation links between Europe and Asia.

The $3bn project, which began in 2017, has faced scrutiny due to its high costs and lack of transparency and for the strategic implications related to China's growing influence in the region. Critics also question the commercial viability of the railway, as it primarily serves freight traffic from China while incurring significant costs for Hungary and Serbia.

Hungary is financing its share of the railway development through a Chinese loan.

The completion of the Serbian section is expected by 2025, with the Hungarian section projected to be finished soon after. The project has suffered delays due to technical, regulatory and financial complexities.

Critics say the involvement of the prime minister's family exemplifies crony capitalism at its worst in Hungary and illustrates well which business circles benefit most from large-scale infrastructure projects.

Despite narrowing fiscal manoeuvre room and the postponement of some state-backed projects, the government recently awarded a HUF440bn (€1.12bn) road construction project to Duna Aszfalt, a company owned by businessman Laszlo Szijj, who is also close to the ruling regime.

Dolomi is majority-owned by Orban's father, with the Prime Minister's brother also holding stakes in the company. The firm has supplied materials from its mine in Gant, central Hungary, for several state or EU-funded infrastructure projects, including sewerage works, road, and railway construction in the past. According to publicly available data, Orban's father has received more than HUF10bn in dividends from the mining business over 10 years.

The crushed dolomite for the Budapest-Belgrade railway project was ordered by V-Híd, a company owned by Lorinc Meszaros, reportedly Hungary's richest man and another tycoon close to the regime, and Chinese firm China Tiejiuju Engineering & Construction. The stone was used to create the load-bearing layer under the tracks.

While the exact total amount of material supplied from the Gant mine and the payment received are not specified in the obtained documents, one document reveals that the Chinese contractor planned to conclude a contract worth HUF1bn gross for the delivery of "at least 100,000 tonnes" of stone, with prices reportedly higher than those charged by competitors.

The total sum paid to Dolomit remains unclear, as the companies involved declined to respond to inquiries. This lack of transparency raises further questions about the financial arrangements surrounding the project.

This situation underscores ongoing concerns about potential conflicts of interest and the distribution of public funds in Hungary's infrastructure projects, particularly those involving international partnerships and substantial investments.