The Department of Immigration and Emigration has extended the deadline for the e-passport tender process, granting potential bidders a second opportunity to submit proposals for the multi-billion-rupee project.
According to official sources, the decision to extend the deadline was not due to a lack of interest, but rather the large number of interested parties competing for the Rs. 5.5 billion contract.
The winning bidder will be required to implement a dual-key encryption solution that supports Sri Lanka’s digital passport infrastructure and allows integration with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Public Key Directory (PKD), enabling global border authorities to access the country’s unique passport Public Key Infrastructure (PKI).
The new submission deadline has been set for July 30, following a previous extension from June 23 to July 23. A prior pre-bid meeting was held, during which a significant number of queries were raised and answered by officials.
Since then, several bidding requirements have been revised, and this marks the second delay in the submission timeline. The latest clarification document issued by the Department comprises 15 pages of updated instructions.
Originally, bidders were required to demonstrate experience in delivering or operating at least two electronic passport solutions, each with a minimum project value of USD 15 million, completed within the past five years. However, this has now been revised to a minimum of one project valued at USD 10 million.
Thales DIS Finland OY, along with its Sri Lankan partner Just In Time (JIT) Technologies (Pvt) Ltd, has already secured a separate contract to supply physical e-passport booklets. However, 1,850,000 of those booklets are still expected to be issued as Machine-Readable Passports (MRP) before the full digital rollout.
Meanwhile, the PKI-PKD system—which ensures biometric verification and passport authenticity—remains under a separate tender process and is still open for bidding.
As the country moves towards full implementation of digital travel documents, traditional MRPs will continue to be issued in limited quantities during the transition phase.
