University of the West of Scotland
Taking responsibility for long-term infrastructure planning and design has been the mission of civil-engineering group Főmterv since it was founded in 1950 by the Metropolitan Council of Budapest. Initially charged with looking after the postwar Hungarian capital, today the company’s activities extend beyond the city boundaries with country-wide projects. These include transport systems, such as national highways, road networks and railways; utilities, such as networks for water, energy, sewers and public lighting; and special facilities, including bridges, underground metro stations and underpasses.
Alongside these core functions, Főmterv’s portfolio further comprises infrastructure planning and design for regional development, construction, private investments, industrial parks and commercial centres. Recent projects include the Budapest Railway Strategy, designed to expand the capacity of this essential hub for passenger and freight traffic, both nationally and on a continental scale.
Since 2012, the company has operated an integrated quality and environmental management system, which builds on a quality management system it introduced in 1997. The integrated system ensures that Főmterv delivers reliable, high-quality technical work, while preventing environmental pollution and minimising environmental risks arising from its operations.
Főmterv’s commitment to the environment is not only manifested at the corporate level, but also in the services and products it provides. In designing future-facing urban-living projects, for example, Főmterv promotes the use of cycling and commuting to reduce the use of fossil fuels. Facilities, too, are planned with sustainable development and environmental protection in mind, with innovations such as the design of grassed tram tracks and solar-powered railway platform roofs.
“Főmterv: Marrying historic engineering values with modern sustainable solutions to sketch the urban blueprints of tomorrow”
Főmterv was initially part of the state apparatus and rose to the major post-war challenge of the reconstruction and restoration of Budapest. Later, it incorporated infrastructure developments, including new housing estates, roads, bridges, public areas and metro lines. In 1992, it was transformed into a private company, and alongside embracing new possibilities, maintained its lasting values of continuous technical development, adaptation to changing needs and a commitment to balancing the development of Budapest alongside respect for its traditions. Today, the company employs nearly 300 people across ten departments, and its turnover is increasing as its scope of activities continues to expand.
A marked feature of Főmterv’s company culture is in encouraging its teams to develop a comprehensive overview of the design and planning process of every project, alongside specialist technical expertise. This is because from concept to execution, the entire design and planning process takes place in-house. It necessitates mastery in everything from making initial assessments, to conceptual planning and development, from geotechnical work to detailed network analysis and simulations.
Főmterv works in the field of infrastructural planning with an ability to deliver projects that impact not just Hungary but all of Europe. Its mission is to provide high-quality complex engineering services transformed to meet the new sustainable expectations of the future. In delivering that, it maintains an experienced creative team, which preserves the traditional values of engineering, but can equally respond to contemporary challenges with a modern, proactive approach, skills that combine to develop the smart cities of tomorrow.
