Mikepércs

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Mikepércs is a village in Hajdú-Bihar county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary.

Mikepércs
Coat of arms of Mikepércs
Country Hungary
CountyHajdú-Bihar
Government
 • MayorTimár Zoltán (Fidesz / KDNP)
Area
 • Total36.93 km2 (14.26 sq mi)
Population
 (2015)
 • Total3,520[1]
 • Density121.3/km2 (314/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
4271
Area code52
Location of Hajdú-Bihar county in Hungary

Geography

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It covers an area of 36.93 km2 (14 sq mi) and has a population of 4,480 people (2015).[1]

Economy

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CATL battery factory

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As part of Hungarian president Viktor Orbán's 2010 "Eastern Opening" policy of economic realignment towards China and Russia, on 12 August 2022, Chinese battery manufacturer CATL announced it would construct a USD$7.8 billion, 100 GWh battery factory on 221 hectares of land located in the Southern Economic Zone in Debrecen;[2] the project was hailed by Hungary's governing Fidesz party as the biggest foreign investment in the nation's history, and the factory would be the largest of its kind in Europe.[3]

However, residents began to protest as construction began, sparked in late 2022 by a street protest organised by a group of local women. At two public hearings regarding the project, townspeople started fights and shouted at government officials, calling them traitors — a reporter for local newspaper Debreciner described "hundreds of people yelling and fighting".[3] Mikepércs' mayor Timár Zoltán announced he was also opposed to the project, despite being a member of Fidesz himself; similarly, György Matolcsy, the governor of the Hungarian National Bank, also came out against the factory.[4]

Residents are concerned about pollution, property values, and unemployment. Zoltán told the New York Times that CATL had told him it was "too busy" to send a representative to a town-hall meeting.[3] In response, Fidesz has blamed George Soros for fomenting protests; Debrecen mayor László Papp blamed "fake information" for the locals' opposition.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b Gazetteer of Hungary, 1 January 2015. Hungarian Central Statistical Office. 3 September 2015
  2. ^ "CATL announces its second European battery plant in Hungary". CATL. 12 August 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d Higgins, Andrew (15 March 2023). "A Hungarian Town Seethes Over a Giant Chinese Battery Plant". The New York Times.
  4. ^ Simon, Zoltan (20 January 2023). "Chinese Battery Plant Investment Faces Local Backlash in Hungary". Bloomberg.

47°27′N 21°38′E / 47.450°N 21.633°E / 47.450; 21.633