New Company Starts Passport Printing Amid Controversy

Kathmandu. Amidst the controversy surrounding the passport contract, a new company has started printing passports from today. German companies Muhlbauer and Veridos have started collecting personal details and printing booklets for passports from today. 

The Department of Passports informed through a notice on Monday that passport distribution has started from the new system. The inauguration of the system was done by Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal on Monday morning. 

Deputy Director of the Department of Passports, Sonu Thapa, informed that two minors' passports were printed during the start of passport printing with the new system. 

Previously, the French company Idemia had been printing passports in Nepal since 2018. According to the department's claim, today, the largest data migration in Nepal's history has been successfully completed, and passport services have been operational through the new passport production and management system. The department claims that passport-related details of about one crore Nepali citizens have been safely transferred to the new system. 

Previously, the secretariat of Prime Minister Balen Shah had pressured the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority to prosecute corruption cases, alleging corruption in this contract process. However, due to the risk of international problems if the already contracted contract was canceled, the Balen government backed down from the process of canceling the contract. 

The department has also stated that technical problems may be observed for a few days even after the system starts. 'It is natural to see some technical challenges, system slowness, and minor delays in passport distribution in the initial days after the implementation of a large IT system and going live,' the department said in a notice, 'In preparation for such potential situations, the department's technical team and staff, as well as the system development company's experts, are on duty 24/7, continuously monitoring, testing, and improving the system.'