Minister Moreno heads the launch of a transparency portal with information on all public works in Chile

Minister Alfredo Moreno presented a new Public Works Ministry transparency portal, which will be open to the public and will allow users to find relevant data about public works contracts signed by the ministry throughout the country. 

The minister explained, “from today, those who log onto the portal (obrapublica.cl) will be able to find information on all contracts, not only current, but over the last 10 years. They will be able to look at everything the companies have done in each of Chile’s regions, the payments that have been made, the nature of the bidding processes, the number of participating companies, if the values that were tendered for or the contracted deadlines were met, as well as other information. Answers will be given to all frequently asked questions that people may have about a project.” 

“We are proud to be part of this pioneering initiative, of this veritable milestone in transparency for our country. The Public Works Ministry is the largest investor that the State has, and today we are uploading all the information about the contracts, investments, companies and state of each of the works, in all of Chile’s regions, which will be made available to the public and to a society that demands greater transparency. This portal will help us to keep advancing in a process of continuous improvement, as well as helping people to find answers to their legitimate doubts. It will be a great help for all companies and will help us to do a much better job,” Minister Moreno stressed. 

“I want to thank the Fiscal Expenditure Observatory and the Chilean Chamber of Construction (CChC) for their tremendous contribution. This great initiative would not have been possible with just the resources and capacities of the State. We are sure that this collaboration can be an example of how things should be done to get ahead, which all those who visit this new portal will be able to verify. Transparency is about giving answers to people’s questions, allowing the sunlight to penetrate every corner,” the minister added. 

“The launch of this platform represents an important milestone in the availability of public information. For us as a Fiscal Observatory, it has been a great challenge of which we are very proud. This website is the result of great collaborative work alongside the Public Works Ministry and the CChC, who provided information for the creation of a citizen monitoring panel to contribute to the transparency and efficiency of public spending. Our aim is to encourage more public institutions to unite, so that we may achieve increase accountability to citizens,” said Paula Díaz, executive director of the Fiscal Observatory. She also applauded the initiative and the commitment by both institutions to keep strengthening the platform over time. 

Updated information 

The vice president of the CChC, Carlos Zeppelin, praised the collaborative work involved in developing the platform: “as a trade association, we are convinced that collaboration between different actors in society is the only way to meet the demands of Chileans and their development expectations. The ‘Public Works Transparency Portal’ reflects its promotors’ understanding of the new standards that today’s society demands: transparency, public and private integrity, accountability and a modern State, all of which contribute to building trust.” 

The site is designed for intuitive navigation and is accessible to anyone with a device and an internet connection. Along with providing information from the last few years, it is committed to updating information on a quarterly basis, according to the progress of awarded contracts and expenditure. 

In addition, the site has subsections that indicate details about the kind of works contracts that have been signed, the amounts involved and the year the works began. It is also possible to check how contracts are distributed, according to the institution within the Public Works Ministry that signs them, such as the National Roads Department, the Architecture Department, the Hydraulic Works Department, the Port Works Department or the General Directorate of Water. 

The portal has been launched as a first version. New data and more specific information about Public Works Ministry contracts between 2021 and 2022 will be incorporated as they become available. It is also possible that further state institutions responsible for carrying out public works will be added.