The construction of a NATO radar on the Tubes hill, overlooking the city of Pecs in southern Hungary, will continue as weather permits, national daily Nepszava reported on Tuesday quoting the Defence Ministry spokesman.
The ministry is currently finalising administrative measures and construction will restart next spring to minimise damage caused by delays, said Istvan Bocskai.
The ministry maintains its offer to allow Pecs residents to monitor the progress of construction, Bocskai said. He reiterated that the radar should be constructed to guarantee Hungary’s security.
The construction has attracted protests by civil organisations and environmentalists, as well as the municipal government led by Mayor Zsolt Pava, of the opposition Fidesz party.
Former house speaker and Socialist Party stalwart Katalin Szili told national daily Nepszabadsag on Tuesday that she still opposed the Tubes Hill radar but added that the problem would have to be handled by Hungary’s next government.
A Budapest court on November 27 gave the green light to the project by rejecting a lawsuit seeking to block construction of the radar. Tubes is the second site chosen for the radar, after nearby Zengo peak abandoned after strong protest by President Laszlo Solyom, for environmental reasons.
