Contracts worth more that $23bn were awarded during the second quarter of 2004, according to a report

Information technology-related contracts awarded by the federal government jumped to more than $23bn (£12.7bn) in the second quarter of 2004.

That represents a 50 percent increase over the same period last year, according to a report released this week by Input, a provider of data on the government market. Federal government IT awards for the same period last year totalled $15.5bn.

The upswing was fuelled by a $10bn contract for setting up the Visitor and Immigration Status Indication Technology System (US-Visit) for the Department of Homeland Security. The total worth of orders placed by the department alone was $10.7bn, compared with $93m for all IT-related contracts during the same period last year, the market researcher said.

Five government departments -- Homeland Security, the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the Department of Transportation -- awarded nearly 90 percent of the contracts in the 2004 quarter, for a total of $21bn. Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman tied for the most contract awards during the period.

Input said that "set-aside" awards to small businesses dropped by 20 percent. Fifteen government departments awarded $451m in contracts to small businesses, compared with $562m awarded in the same period last year. The Navy accounted for awards valued at $226m in second quarter of 2004.

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