KATHMANDU, Nov 26: The Department of Transport Management (DoTM) on Wednesday imported more than 1.4 million units of smart driving license cards supplied by its French contractor.

According to the DoTM, the license cards sent by the French contractor Smart Card and Solutions (SELP) arrived at the Tribhuvan International Airport. The French company, 13 months after it was awarded the contract, has supplied the license cards.

The French firm was awarded the contract for USD 1.24 million (Rs 140 million) to supply 1.48 million smart license cards to the DoTM. The department had called for a global tender for the supply of smart license cards in August 2020, in which Malaysian company Iris Berhad Corporation, French company SELP and Indian company Madras Security Printers submitted their bids.

The imported cards, however, will not be sufficient for the large number of people who are on the waiting list. According to the records with the DoTM, there are more than 600,000 individuals waiting for their turns to appear in driving license examinations.  

Due to the lack of smart license cards, the DoTM has been issuing provisional licenses to the candidates eligible to receive a driving license. On an average, the government authority takes a year to provide the individual concerned with a smart driving license card.  

The DoTM started distributing smart driving licenses from December, 2015 but the process is yet to be smooth. 

 
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