Kathmandu [Nepal], July 13 – Nepal has begun printing its passports through new contractors from Monday ending the country’s reliance on the French company that had previously handled passport production the Department of Passports said.
The passport printing contract has shifted from the French company IDEMIA formerly known as Oberthur before its merger with Morpho to two German companies following a competitive international bidding process.
According to the Department of Passports, the two German firms – Mühlbauer ID Services GmbHandVeridos GmbH have been confirmed to print a total of 6.4 million passports under the new agreement.
Although the contract was awarded through an international tender process last year implementation was delayed due to legal and technical obstacles. With those issues resolved the government officially began printing passports under the new arrangement on Monday.
The transition marks a significant change in Nepal’s passport production system with the government replacing its long-standing contractor after completing the procurement process. Officials said the new companies will be responsible for producing the country’s biometric passports under the awarded contract.
The Department of Passports has not announced any changes to passport validity application procedures or document specifications as part of the transition. The shift primarily concerns the production contractor responsible for printing the travel documents.
The government expects the new arrangement to ensure the continued supply of passports under the long-term contract which covers the printing of 6.4 million passport booklets. The contract follows the completion of an international procurement process that had faced delays before entering into implementation.
