BP skating, boating to benefit from two-year pond renovation

Budapest's historic ice skating rink will undergo a comprehensive, two-year renovation costing Ft 4.5 billion (€18,000,000), reports daily Népszabadság.

Népszabadság

The renewed ice rink, as we will see it in two years.

Two-thirds of the cost of refurbishing the 80-year-old ice rink and 120-year-old associated building will be covered by EU funds, with the first installment of the remainder included in the city's budget.

The first system for artificially creating ice was installed under the Városligeti tó (City Park Lake) in 1926. Since then, each new array of cooling pipes has been installed on the top of the previous system.

As a result, the lake has become so shallow that its traditional use for pleasure boating in the summer has become nearly impossible.

During the coming renovation, all of the accumulated layers of concrete and piping will be removed, and a brand new cooling system installed, with pipes easily accessible for repair.

The renovation of the adjacent ornamental building will include the reconstruction of a wing destroyed during World War II and never repaired. While the original look of the exterior will be maintained, the interior of the building will be modernized.

The works will be completed by 2010.

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