KELUM BANDARA 
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Colombo, Jan 02 (Daily Mirror) - The crisis involved in the issuance of passports is to exist further in the New Year, since the available stock is sufficient only for the first half of this year, and the government is still at a loss to call for tenders to get fresh copies of the P-series.
The previous government took steps to introduce ePassports but the tender awarded to Thales DIS Finland OY and its Sri Lankan partner, Just In Time (JIT) Technologies (Pvt) Ltd—has been challenged in the Court of Appeal by losing bidder Epic Lanka (Pvt) Ltd.
The initial plan was to issue ePassports starting from January 1, 2025.
Asked for a comment in this regard, Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala told Daily Mirror yesterday that the government mulls calling for tenders to secure a fresh stock of passports of the P-series to address the crisis before the court case involving ePassports is over.
“We have to decide whether we can award the fresh tender to the suppliers who are now embroiled in the court case. We await the recommendations of the committee appointed by the Cabinet to study it. There are various issues that need to be looked into,” he said.
He said, “We have to decide how to proceed with steps to address this shortage while the court case is going on.
A large number of Sri Lankans, seeking foreign jobs, have been applying for new passports since the economic crisis of 2022.
In addition to those seeking international travel, passports are sought by a large number of Sri Lankans engaged in online trading with their international partners. Passport details are sought in the execution of such transactions.
