French firm gets big contract of Nepalese smart passport
PTI | 02:08 PM,Aug 28,2010Shirish B Pradhan Kathmandu, Aug 28 (PTI) France's Oberthur Technologies will make Nepal's new tamper-proof smart passport, with the government signing a formal deal with the company.Under a contract signed between company executives and Nepalese Foreign Ministry officials last night, Oberthur Technologies will supply four million machine readable passports to the Nepalese government in the next five years at an estimated cost USD 14 million.The deal was signed by Muktinath Bhatta, Chief of Protocol in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Florian Pacquelin of Oberthur Technologies ending months of bickerings among political parties over the issue.With the conclusion of the contract, Nepal would be able to meet the International Civil Aviation Organisation's (ICAO) deadline of using smart passport by January 2011.ICAO had, earlier, extended the deadline from January this year on the request of Kathmandu.The French company was the lowest bidder for the multi million dollar contract for which state owned Indian and Chinese firms had also bidded. The Indian and Chinese withdrew from bidding at the last moment.The lucrative contract got shrouded in controversy after the government cancelled the contract signed with India's Security Minting and Printing Corporation under the Maoists' pressure.Nepal's Foreign Ministry then called for fresh tenders.The issue is likely to be raked up again in Parliament as some Lawmakers oppose the decision to scrap the deal with the Indian firm.
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