Aqua Palace to be constructed in E Hungary

The cornerstone for a 4.8 billion forint (about 20.84 million euro) aqua theme park (Aqua Palace) was put into place on Friday in the eastern city of Hajduszoboszlo, which is known for its thermal baths.

[MTI] The 15,000-square-metre water park is expected to be completed in November 2009.

The city was awarded HUF 2.25 billion (about 9.68m euros) in EU and central government development funding to apply to the cost of the water park.

The aqua park was the first investment in the Northern Plain region to be named a "priority project" by the government, thereby speeding up access to funding and the acquisition of permits, senior environment ministry official Lajos Olah said.

The city's mayor said the new Aqua Palace will turn the city's spas into a year-round destination.