Enormous Interest for the New Széchenyi Plan's National Tour2011. január 28.
Hungarian businesses were expecting the introductory tour organized by the Ministry of National Development with keen interest.
At the seven initial events more than 1000 participants were interested in the introduction to the system of tendering aimed to boost economic growth, and the lectures of the experts. The representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises, local governments and non-profit organizations welcomed the New Széchenyi Plan and expressed their univocal support.
High-ranking officials of the Ministry of National Development and the National Development Agency introduced the New Széchenyi Plan to a full house at two Budapest locations and in Lajosmizse, Salgótarján, Miskolc, Eger and Szombathely. At the events organized in cooperation with the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the National Association of Entrepreneurs and Employers and the local governments, detailed presentations were given about the breakout points and the simplification of tendering.
Besides the introduction of the New Széchenyi Plan, the aim of the national tour is to facilitate professional consultation. At the events business owners can give their opinion and remarks about the planned tenders, so these can be integrated in the upcoming calls for tenders.
Participants highlighted the opportunity of economic growth as the most positive feature of the programme, and agreed with the government's policy focussing on the creation of jobs and competitiveness. In her speech State Secretary for Development Policy Coordination Ágnes Molnár of the Ministry of National Development highlighted that if each of the 600,000 family businesses active in Hungary employed just one new employee with the help of the New Széchenyi Plan, 600,000 new jobs would be created in the country.
Most of the participants were representatives of family, small and medium-sized enterprises, and their questions at the end of the event showed that they were deeply interested in the new opportunities. The majority of the questions were in connection with the actual programmes, but many regarded the simplifications of tender submission.
The next round of calls for tenders of the New Széchenyi Plan will be opened in March. In February additional county towns will be visited by the tour in order to introduce the 93 calls for tenders that make available sources of HUF 1,100 billion.
At present 19 customer service points offer detailed information about the New Széchenyi Plan for visitors on site and on the phone. The number of information points is growing continuously to inform the public also in the countryside about the tender possibilities.
More than 170,000 visitors have accessed New Széchenyi Plan's website (www.ujszechenyiterv.gov.hu), and approximately 1.5 million page views have been recorded since the 14 January launch. The Tenders Guide is also extremely popular: the first issue is sold out, a reprint is in preparation.