The data of the first four months of 2021 indicate a 33,5% increase in number and a 51,9% increase in value in comparison with the year 2020. Coronavirus certainly had an impact on procurements, but not on public procurements.

 The public market is growing strongly through the design tenders which reach 1.583 contracts for a value of 305,9 million of euros (according to the Oice Observatory/Informatel).

The comparison with the data of April 2020, the first lockdown due to the pandemia, show a growth of 172,1% in number and 129,1% in value. The tenders published on the European Gazette have been in total 117, for 8 of these, for a value of 9,6 million of euros, the award criterion was the lowest price (in March there were 7).

If on one side, the design public market, and generally the architectural and engineering services, has not almost suffered from pandemic crisis at all (as stated Gabriele Scicolone, the President of OICE) the market of all architectural and engineering services slowed down, in fact in April the tenders were 752, with a value of 210,0 million of euros, with a decrease in comparison with March of about 8% in number and 15,1 in value.

Comparing the data of April 2021 with those of April 2020 it is possible to see a numerical growth of 90,4, but a decrease about the value equal to 11,5%.

The future scenarios based on these and other market forecasts, are divided between the agitation in view of a complete market recovery and the suspect that in the future there will be a general reduction of the values of the calls for tender, probably due to a rearrangement of the organization or to a resizing of projects.