The contract for HUF 3.3bn in European Union support for the project was signed by museum director László Baán and head of public benefit company Pro Régió Tamás Lukovich. Also present at the signing were László Varju, state secretary at the Ministry of National Development and Economy; Balázs Mosonyi, director of the National Development Agency's Regional Development Programmes Directorate; and Pál Steiner, chairman of the Central Hungary Regional Development Council.
The project involves the construction of a multi-functional space underneath Heroes' Square that will add 4,000 square metres to the museum's area. The space will serve as an information centre for tourists, a reception area, a café, restaurant, museum store, children's play area and a ticket booth. There will also be space for temporary exhibitions, a performance space and a media corner.
The project - a reaction to growing numbers of visitors drawn by the museum's increasingly popular temporary exhibitions - will expand the museum's role beyond its profile as a depository for artifacts.
A government decision on the HUF 3.3 billion in subsidies for the expansion was made in July of 2007.
Minister of Education and Culture István Hiller noted before the signing of the contract that the expansion was the biggest in the museum's hundred-year history.
The expansion is expected to be completed by the spring of 2011.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
