The Philippine Government was able to save PHP577m ($13m) in the second half of last year, with the elimination of negotiated contracts for projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

The savings were derived from the 29 projects procured through open and competitive bidding, of which 25 projects are short-term infrastructure rehabilitation projects.

The 25 projects, which include roads, bridges and flood control, saved PHP245.3m ($5.6m) on a total bid price of PHP838.8m ($19m).

The biggest savings were generated from bids of Plaridel Bypass road with PHP163.2m ($3.7m) and the C-3 (Araneta Avenue) / Quezon Avenue interchange project, which generated PHP104.5m ($2m) in savings.

Another two bridge projects for rural development also generated savings of PHP64.76m ($1.4m), with a total budget of PHP989.55m ($22.7m) and total bid amount of PHP925.79m ($21m).

DPWH expects to generate much more savings from the bidding of all its projects nationwide, and through reforms in the bidding process.