After almost an 8-year delay, the e-passport project has now been re-activated following the recent closing of bids from eligible bidders for the procurement to supply five million e-passports to the department.

The tender also included the required software update to implement the new system, the department’s tender notice published on November 9, 2023 indicated.

“The chosen supplier will need several months to formulate the system, so we are hoping to start implementing this e-passport project by the last quarter of this year,” an official of the department said.

According to specifications the e-passport will have a microchip inserted to the existing passport with additional bio data as well as biometric data – fingerprints and a standardised photograph – of the holder