Transparency assured in new e-passport tender

Sri Lankans will be able to get their long-awaited e-passports, equipped with biometric chips compliant with the latest International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards, official sources said.

After almost an 8-year delay, Sri Lanka’s e-passport project will get off the ground next year following the calling of bids from eligible bidders to supply 5 million e-Passports to the Department of Immigration and Emigration.

The closing date of bids for the tender also included the required software update to implement the new system is on December 21, the department’s tender notice published on November 9 indicated.

“The chosen supplier will need several months to formulate the system so we are hoping to start implementing this e-passport project by the first quarter of next year,” Public Security Minister Tiran Alles said.

According to specifications the e-passport will have a microchip inserted to the existing passport with additional bio data as well as biometric data – fingerprints and a standardised photograph – of the holder Mr. Alles considering the high cost and complaints from other reputed suppliers relating to high eligibility criteria and unwanted security features has cancelled the previous notice of Expression of Interest (EOI) for the supply of ‘e-Passports’ in August this year and called for this fresh tender on November 9.

A senior ministry official said that more than 700,000 e-passports should be issued per year and it will cost about US$15 million.

Meanwhile a pre-bid meeting was held at the ministry on November 23 to clear up any confusion regarding project details, scope of work, and solicitation of documents.

Representatives of several renowned companies involved in the digital passport production and digital card printing expressed their concerns on the previous passport tender evaluation process tainted with official favoritism and manipulation of technical specifications, Business Times reliably learns.