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Municipal construction tendering picks up after five weak months
In summer 2026, results were published for 331 public procurement procedures for construction works run by municipalities. In summer 2025 the figure was 249. That is a rise of one third, and it is not the continuation of momentum built up during the year. It is an upturn.
In each of the first five months of the year the same figure stood at or below its level a year earlier. In January there were 67 procedures instead of 99, in March 101 instead of 135. The trend turned in June and the gap widened month by month. June was 17 per cent above the previous year, July 30 per cent and August 58 per cent.
The upturn is not only visible against a weak summer 2025. Compared with the spring period from March to May, municipal works procedures rose by 10.0 per cent while procedures overall fell by 1.8 per cent. A change that points upwards against both baselines cannot be explained by seasonality alone.
The upturn is happening at the level of small items. Of the municipal works procedures this summer, 95 per cent ran under the national regime, meaning projects below the EU thresholds. The typical, median lot value was HUF 55.0 million.
| Month | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Change 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 152 | 99 | 67 | −32.3% |
| February | 197 | 95 | 95 | 0.0% |
| March | 143 | 135 | 101 | −25.2% |
| April | 186 | 120 | 103 | −14.2% |
| May | 190 | 108 | 98 | −9.3% |
| June | 162 | 84 | 98 | +16.7% |
| July | 200 | 100 | 130 | +30.0% |
| August | 141 | 66 | 104 | +57.6% |
A recovery, but still far from the 2024 level
The size of the rise is best read from the 2025 low. In summer 2024, results were published for 503 municipal works procedures, and in 2025 that number halved. Summer 2026 recovered 82 of the 254 procedures lost, roughly a third.
| Indicator | Summer 2024 | Summer 2025 | Summer 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of procedures | 503 | 249 | 331 |
| Number of contracting authorities | 366 | 194 | 234 |
| Share of EU-funded procedures | 63% | 57% | 50% |
| Share run under the national regime | 93% | 95% | 95% |
| Median lot value | HUF 58.6 million | HUF 62.8 million | HUF 55.0 million |
Three details stand out. The circle of contracting authorities widened too, from 194 to 234, so the figure is not driven by a few large projects. Items became smaller, with the median lot value falling from HUF 62.8 million to HUF 55.0 million. The most telling detail is funding. The share of EU-funded procedures fell further, from 57 to 50 per cent, and 58 of the 82 additional procedures were funded domestically.
Not yet visible in the first half
According to the Public Procurement Authority's report Hungarian Public Procurement in Numbers, first half of 2026, the number of works contracts grew by 1.4 per cent on the same period a year earlier and stood at roughly three quarters of the level of the first half of 2024. Our own calculation shows essentially the same for that period. The number of works procedures exceeded the first half of 2025 by 0.3 per cent.
The two calculations use different methods, so their levels cannot be compared. The Public Procurement Authority counts contracts and leaves out framework agreements, while we count procedures. The direction is the same, however: the construction market did not move in the first half. Against that background the summer upturn is a new development, and the Public Procurement Authority's annual report for 2026 may be the first to show it in official figures.
The forint value is about two fuel frameworks
Measured in forint, the total value of summer award results was HUF 1,006.3 billion, 14.9 per cent more than in summer 2025. Read as a sign of a livelier market, that figure misleads. Almost all of the rise comes from the Public Procurement and Supply Directorate (KEF), whose award value grew from HUF 67.4 billion to HUF 300.1 billion. Of that, HUF 233.1 billion is two fuel framework agreements with MOL Downstream Zrt. Excluding KEF, summer award value fell by 12.6 per cent.
Of the forint value, 64 per cent is the ceiling of framework agreements rather than committed spend. A framework agreement sets the most that may be ordered under it, and actual call-offs may be lower. Six of the seven largest procedures are such frameworks. The largest contract actually concluded is municipal: a HUF 23.8 billion contract of the City of Veszprém, its subject being the complex development of the Petőfi Theatre, part II. The second largest is municipal too: Szeged's public catering contract, worth HUF 15.0 billion.
| Value | Contracting authority | Winner | Subject | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HUF 169.4 billion | Public Procurement and Supply Directorate | MOL Downstream Zrt. | Vehicle fuel purchased by fuel card | framework agreement |
| HUF 80.9 billion | Digital Government Agency | DXC Technology Magyarország Kft. and five further winners | Extension of existing Microsoft software | framework agreement |
| HUF 67.0 billion | Public Procurement and Supply Directorate | SCORPIO Kft. and six further winners | Fire engines | framework agreement |
| HUF 63.7 billion | Magyar Közút Nonprofit Zrt. | Duna Aszfalt Zrt. and eight further winners | Renewal works on the national road network | framework agreement |
| HUF 63.7 billion | Public Procurement and Supply Directorate | MOL Downstream Zrt. | Fuel delivered by tanker | framework agreement |
| HUF 36.3 billion | MVM Démász and MVM Émász Áramhálózati Kft. | SW Umwelttechnik Magyarország Kft. and two further winners | Reinforced concrete poles | framework agreement |
| HUF 23.8 billion | City of Veszprém | VEMÉV-SZER Kft. and consortium partner | Complex development of the Petőfi Theatre, Veszprém, II. | contract |
Who spent the most?
The ten largest contracting authorities accounted for 68.4 per cent of summer forint value, against 56.5 per cent a year earlier. The rise in concentration comes from centralised purchasing, with KEF and the Digital Government Agency together accounting for 45 per cent of forint value. Two county-rank cities also appear on the list, Veszprém and Szeged.
| Contracting authority | Value | Share | Lots |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public Procurement and Supply Directorate | HUF 300.1 billion | 29.8% | 6 |
| Digital Government Agency | HUF 152.5 billion | 15.2% | 94 |
| Magyar Közút Nonprofit Zrt. | HUF 69.5 billion | 6.9% | 246 |
| MVM Démász and MVM Émász Áramhálózati Kft. (joint procurement) | HUF 40.7 billion | 4.0% | 27 |
| MÁV Személyszállítási Zrt. | HUF 35.7 billion | 3.5% | 75 |
| City of Veszprém | HUF 25.0 billion | 2.5% | 6 |
| MÁV Pályaműködtetési Zrt. | HUF 21.5 billion | 2.1% | 55 |
| City of Szeged | HUF 15.8 billion | 1.6% | 6 |
| Hungarian State Treasury | HUF 14.9 billion | 1.5% | 10 |
| ELMŰ Hálózati Kft. | HUF 12.2 billion | 1.2% | 19 |
Procurement regime and subject
The number of procedures grew in every main breakdown. It grew faster under the national regime, by 16.1 per cent, than under the EU regime, where it rose by 12.8 per cent. Among subjects, works grew fastest, by 22.6 per cent. Of forint value, 91 per cent related to the EU regime, which is consistent with the share above 90 per cent in the Public Procurement Authority's half-year report.
| Breakdown | Summer 2025 | Summer 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| National regime | 954 | 1,108 | +16.1% |
| EU regime | 971 | 1,095 | +12.8% |
| Works | 540 | 662 | +22.6% |
| Supplies | 741 | 868 | +17.1% |
| Services | 644 | 673 | +4.5% |
| Total | 1,925 | 2,203 | +14.4% |
What it means in practice
For tenderers
The pickup appeared in national-regime municipal construction purchases worth a few tens of millions of forints, at 234 different contracting authorities. Such notices arrive scattered across many contracting authorities, so access comes from following them systematically. Our tender monitoring service helps with exactly that.
For contracting authorities
Anyone benchmarking their own purchasing against market totals should look at counts and median values rather than total value. Close to two thirds of the summer total is the ceiling of framework agreements, and a single central framework can make up a sixth of the whole. The typical item in the summer 2026 municipal works market was HUF 55.0 million. Our services for contracting authorities support procedure preparation and the grounding of the estimated value.
Methodology note
Data. EKR open data, contract award notices published between 1 June and 31 August 2026. The export runs to 4 September 2026, so August is complete. Comparisons: summer 2025 and spring 2026.
Municipal contracting authority. One whose name contains “önkormányzat” (local government) or “polgármesteri hivatal” (mayor's office). Municipally owned companies are not included. The monthly figures can add up to one procedure more than the summer total, because a procedure can appear in two months.
Values. We add up the final value of lots. What cannot be verified is left out: HUF 18.1 billion of framework value, dynamic purchasing systems (88 procedures) and non-forint items (61 lots). The values of the largest procedures were checked against TED notices.
Names. We do not name private individuals or sole traders.
The Public Procurement Authority's figures. It uses a different method, so the direction of the two sources can be compared, but not their level.
Source. Hungarian Electronic Public Procurement System (EKR) open data, ekr.gov.hu/opendata, downloaded on 18 October 2026. Own calculation.