KATHMANDU, JULY 13
The Department of Passport (DoP) has awarded the e-passport supply contract to two German companies after a competitive international bidding process. Muehlbauer and Veridos-two well-established German firms-offered rates nearly 12 million USD lower than French competitor IDEMIA, winning Package 1 and Package 2 respectively.
Muehlbauer secured Package 1 (Data Enrollment) for 11 million USD, while Veridos won Package 2 (Supply and Delivery of E-Passports) with a bid of 43,941,381 USD. The total contract value stands at 55 million USD.
In comparison, IDEMIA quoted 17 million USD for Package 1 and 50 million USD for Package 2.
Following the decision, IDEMIA has challenged the contract award, filing a review petition with the Public Procurement Review Committee (PPRC). In a development viewed as more than coincidence, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed at the Supreme Court by a law firm just days after IDEMIA lost the bid, raising concerns about an attempt to delay implementation through legal maneuvering.
Meanwhile, the DoP currently issues about 120,000 passports each month, and only 500,000 e-passports remain in stock. If the apex court does not resolve the PIL in time, any delay in finalizing the contract could result in a severe disruption of passport services.
Some critics have questioned why the e-passport contract wasn't handed to Nepal's own Security Printing Center (SPP). However, official records confirm that SPP formally declined the task in writing, citing a lack of technical capacity and required human resources.
According to a letter sent by the Department of Passport to SPP (Chalani No. 81/82-448, dated 06/06/2081), SPP clearly stated it could not undertake the project, paving the way for DoP to issue an international tender in November 2025.
Among the reasons, SPP lacks any printer capable of producing e-passports. The Rotatek 5K Offset printer, currently at SPP, is not designed to print passports, and its installation and commissioning have not even commenced.
Likewise, SPP currently operates with only 3 functional staff, with key technical positions-including Computer Engineer and IT Director-lying vacant. The government has allocated only NPR 30 crore to SPP for FY 2082/83, while it still owes NPR 65 crore to vendors from past contracts.
Given these constraints, assigning the passport printing task to SPP would have been operationally unfeasible and would have risked triggering a national passport crisis, according to officials.
The DoP maintains that the procurement process was transparent and competitive, and stresses the need for swift resolution of legal challenges to ensure continuity of essential services.
