Including the latest proposal from the French embassy on behalf of Oberthru Technologies to supply passports at US$ 3.65 per piece, more than four countries/parties are vying to supply the passports to the government.[break]
The government has already received expressions of interest from state-owned Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India, government-owned PERUM PERURI of Indonesia and HeiTech Padu Berhad in Malaysia.
With growing competition among suppliers the offer price has also come down significantly. The Indonesian security printers offered to supply the passpors at US$ 3.50 per piece while the Indian printer has offered the MRPs at US$ 4 per passport. Similarly, the Malaysian printing firm has proposed to supply the high-tech passports at US $ 3.75 a piece.
The Indian security printer is yet to submit specifications on what its offer includes whereas the other three parties have specified what they will do at the offer price.
The Indonesian and Malaysain security printers have separately said that they will supply 50,000 MRPs by April 1 so that Nepal will not miss the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) deadline.
Nepal as an ICAO member is required to introduce the high-tech passports by April 1 as any traditional, non-machine readable passports will thereafter become invalid for international travel. However, the passports to be issued before April 1 will still be valid for travel.
Likewise, the French company has said that it will deliver a first lot of 200,000 passports by April 1 if it is awarded the MRP project within the next two weeks.
But government officials said they are undecided how they will proceed with these expression of interest from govenrments and private companies although there are only 41 days left before the deadline. They said they want to see the entire process of awarding the MRP project finalized by the end of the month. They are also waiting for the report of a technical team that returned after studying the Indian offer and visiting the Indian security printer.
Officials at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM) and the Finance Ministry said they are in a difficult position over the Indian offer as the latest cheap offers came after the southern neighbour´s proposal was made public. Knowlegable sources also disclosed to Republica that India had initially offered the MRPs at US$ 6, then US$ 5, before offering them at Indian rupees 200 per piece.
Sources at the OPMCM said they are expecting the cabinet to form a committee headed by the chief secretary to take up the MPR issue.
Among the interested parties, Indian Security Printing and Minting Corporation has been printing Indian banknotes and passports.
Similarly, the Indonesian PERUM PERURI is one of the largest security printers of Asia and has been printing MRPs for Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Besides, it has been printing banknotes of various denominations for Nepal Rastra Bank and excise and duty stamps for Nepal´s Inland Revenue besides having the experience of printing ordinary Nepali passports and other immigration related documents.
Likewise, the French company has already printed Nepali banknotes of various denominations and Nepali ordinary passports. It was shortlisted during pre-qualification of an international bidding process for MRPs that was quashed by the ministry last December.
The Malaysian company has experience of printing and supplying MRPs to Sri Lanka, the first South Asain country to introduce the high-tech travel documents.
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