The value of public procurements in Hungary climbed 8.9% to HUF 771.8 billion in the first half of 2011 from the same period a year earlier, Public Procurement Council chairman Robert Gajdos said at a press conference on Tuesday.

The number of public procurement procedures climbed 22 to 5,301 during the period, Gajdos said. European Union funding was used in 47% of the procedures in H1, up from 37.6% in the same period in 2010. In value terms, EU funding accounted for 53% of the total, level with the rate a year earlier.