Buying 20 lakh MRP booklets

Purchase panel okays proposal

The Cabinet Committee on Purchase has approved a proposal to buy 20 lakh booklets and 20 lakh lamination foils of machine readable passports (MRP) from a British firm, De La Rue, to meet an emergency demand for passports before the introduction of the much-talked about e-passports.

The approval was given at a Cabinet Division meeting yesterday, with the finance minister in the chair. According to the proposal, the Department of Immigration and Passport (DIP) will purchase the booklets and lamination foils at a cost of Tk. 203.26 crore. In the proposal, the secretary of the Security Service Division of the home ministry said that it would need two years, till June 2021, to introduce e-passports through all DIP offices and Bangladesh missions abroad.

“Only 343,993 MRP booklets are currently there in the DIP’s warehouse. Another 174,400 booklets will be received soon. The demand for MRPs is 20,000 daily. The existing stock will be able to meet the demand for another five months. So, 20 lakh MRP booklets and 20 lakh foils have to be procured from De La Rue,” the proposal said.

DIP director general Maj. Gen. Md Sohail Hossain Khan, in a letter sent to the secretary of the Security Service Division on March 12, said at least 50 per cent of the MRP booklets and foils could be purchased as per Clause 74 (4) of the Public Procurement Rules (PPR), considering the demand for passports.  He advised an import of 20 lakh MRP booklets and 20 lakh foils from the De La Rue at a cost of USD 4,838,616.31 and sought the ministry’s approval to make the procurement. He also mentioned that the British firm, De La Rue, had agreed to supply 20 lakh MRP booklets and 20 lakh foils at a price 10 per cent higher than their past quotation.

Earlier, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) had been signed with a German company during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to that country in February 2017 to make MRPs in the country. Under the agreement, a passport booklet factory will be set up in Dhaka’s Uttara area, where a six-storey printing building of the DIP has been constructed. The German company will set up machines at all Bangladeshi missions abroad and all passport offices in the country.

As part of the proposed project, three crore e-passports would be produced and distributed among the current holders of MRPs in the country.

 

Buying 20 lakh MRP booklets

Purchase panel okays proposal

The Cabinet Committee on Purchase has approved a proposal to buy 20 lakh booklets and 20 lakh lamination foils of machine readable passports (MRP) from a British firm, De La Rue, to meet an emergency demand for passports before the introduction of the much-talked about e-passports. The approval was given at a Cabinet Division meeting yesterday, with the finance minister in the chair. According to the proposal, the Department of Immigration and Passport (DIP) will purchase the booklets and lamination foils at a cost of Tk. 203.26 crore. In the proposal, the secretary of the Security Service Division of the home ministry said that it would need two years, till June 2021, to introduce e-passports through all DIP offices and Bangladesh missions abroad. Only 343,993 MRP booklets are currently there in the DIPs warehouse. Another 174,400 booklets will be received soon. The demand for MRPs is 20,000 daily. The existing stock will be able to meet the demand for another five months. So, 20 lakh MRP booklets and 20 lakh foils have to be procured from De La Rue, the proposal said. DIP director general Maj. Gen. Md Sohail Hossain Khan, in a letter sent to the secretary of the Security Service Division on March 12, said at least 50 per cent of the MRP booklets and foils could be purchased as per Clause 74 (4) of the Public Procurement Rules (PPR), considering the demand for passports. He advised an import of 20 lakh MRP booklets and 20 lakh foils from the De La Rue at a cost of USD 4,838,616.31 and sought the ministrys approval to make the procurement. He also mentioned that the British firm, De La Rue, had agreed to supply 20 lakh MRP booklets and 20 lakh foils at a price 10 per cent higher than their past quotation. Earlier, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) had been signed with a German company during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas visit to that country in February 2017 to make MRPs in the country. Under the agreement, a passport booklet factory will be set up in Dhakas Uttara area, where a six-storey printing building of the DIP has been constructed. The German company will set up machines at all Bangladeshi missions abroad and all passport offices in the country. As part of the proposed project, three crore e-passports would be produced and distributed among the current holders of MRPs in the country.