Orbán’s elite academy has its own hotel, spends USD 5.4 million to renovate it

Colloqually called „Little Hilton” the Conference Hotel of Győr was acquired in 2021 by the Mathias Corvinus Collegium Foundation (MCC). The hotel is now getting a makeover with a net renovation budget of 2 billion HUF (5.4 billion USD). Some bidders offered cheaper deals, but they were excluded from the tender because their price offers were deemed “disproportionately low”.

Not long after Balázs Orbán’s infamous statment regarding the 1956 Hungarian revolution, where he implied that the government would not attempt to resist in the case of an invasion by Russia, the elite academy lead by the Prime Minister’s Advisor has recieved good news. The Mathias Corvinus Collegium Foundation (MCC) – an educational and research institute closely aligned with the governing Fidesz Party that recievs massive funding from the government – has closed it’s tender for the renovation of their Educational Centre in Győr.

Billions to spare

The public tender was officially announced by Arrabona Talentum Ingatlanfejlesztő Kft, a company belonging to the MCC. The to-be-renovated facility is located at 3 Apor Vilmos Bishop Square, a protected historical site. The investment will involve a complete renovation of 65% of the building’s mechanical, electrical and architectural installations.

The planned works do not include the renovation of the indoor units, the swimming pool area and the construction of the attic. However, for the latter (i.e. the attic with 20 dormitories, a lounge, a file room, a storage room, a mechanical room, a lobby and a corridor), the contracting authority will seek a contractor by means of a negotiated procedure without publication of a contract notice, while the renovation of the swimming pool area is optional. The renovation of the spa and pool area will be the subject of a specific contract and will be notified to the successful tenderer within 6 months of the signing of the contract.

Only construction companies with a net turnover of HUF 1.1 billion were eligible for the tender. A total of 6 bids were received. Two of them, Euro Generál Zrt. and EB Hungary Invest Kft. were excluded because they asked for “disproportionately low” prices. The bid of FK System Építő Szolgáltató és Kereskedelmi Kft. was also declared invalid for “other reasons”.

The winning bidder, Kft., undertook the work for a net amount of HUF 2 058 664 449. The company also subcontracts with Integral-Clíma Kft. and Raab-Elektro Kft. REAG Invest has already won several public procurement contracts: last year, for example, it carried out the energy renovation of the Szent Orsolya Girls’ College in Eger, and earlier, among others, the energy renovation of the Benedictine Secondary School and College in Győr.

This is not the first time this has happened in the renovation of MCC buildings. As we reported, the tender for the renovation of one of the foundation’s Budapest institutions was won by ZÁÉV, a company owned by Lőrinc Mészáros, after five of the other ten bidders were disqualified, mainly on the grounds that they offered disproportionately low prices. The bids of the other five bidders were not even evaluated on their merits, as they would have been more expensive than ZÁÉV.

A huge portfolio

MCC, now operating as a public interest trust, has channelled significant state assets into the company since 2010: in addition to direct cash grants, Mol, and Richter shares, it has also acquired real estate (e.g. the Aranybika Hotel in Debrecen, the Révfülöp resort and sailing port, the Gellért Hill dormitory building, etc.), and in the summer of 2023 MCC has become a majority owner of the Libri-Bookline group of companies.

In 2023, the assets of the organisation approached HUF 500 billion.

In 2021, the foundation bought the building in Győr from Rába Járműipari Holding Nyrt. in an auction. As reported by 24.hu, MCC paid 1.455 billion for the facility, once known as the Little Hilton, for more than 25 percent more than the 1.146 billion HUF market value in the independent appraisal.

Written by Eszter Katus, translated by Zalán Zubor. Hungarian version of this story can be found here. Cover photo: The presentation of Balázs Orbán’s latest book at the MCC in Győr, where the author was interviewed by Dr. Dávid Fekete, head of the MCC’s training centre in Győr (source: Facebook)