Hungary is planning to improve traffic flow in Budapest by constructing a Chinese-funded railway bypass and a motorway ring road, local media report.

The V0 railway was discussedduring Chinese president Xi Jinping’s visit to Hungary last month, and was confirmed by Janos Lazar, minister for construction and transport, last week.

The highway is part of the M8, a longstanding project to connect up to six motorways in the west and centre of Hungary, and draw traffic away from Budapest.

Lazar said designs for both schemes would be ready this year, and implementation would start in the next four years.

Together, they will form a “logistics ring” around the capital, populated by warehouses and freight companies.

He added that the rail scheme would require the construction of a bridge over the Danube about 40km south of Budapest, near the city of Dunaujvaros.

Another deal signed during President Xi was a high-speed railway connecting Budapest Airport with the capital.