The Foreign Ministry yesterday defended its handling of the Bt7-billion electronic passport project, saying bidding was conducted in accordance with regulations.

The ministry cooperated fully with the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) over its investigation into the project, spokesman Kitti Wasinondh said.

The OAG informed the ministry on May 10 that it would conduct an inquiry, but Kitti said he understood it was routine practice, since the project involved a huge sum.

Sources close to the inquiry - not yet finalised - have said the auditor has found a pattern of irregularities in the bidding procedure.

A consortium of Chan Wanich, Chan Wanich Security Printing and Singapore-based NEC Solutions Asia Pacific Ltd won the concession to produce 7 million e-passports over a 10-year period and to install related facilities at Bangkok airport.

The consortium charged the ministry Bt953.25 per passport book while competitor MFEC Consortium quoted Bt980 per passport.

The winning consortium met all requirements in the technical and pricing criteria set by the ministry, Kitti said.

A Senate special commission on corruption, chaired by senator Pratin Santiprabob, concluded on February 10 last year that the ministry's e-passport project was conducted in accordance with procurement regulations, he said.

The ministry signed an agreement with the consortium on January 26 last year. The consortium began the first phase of the project by introducing e-passports for officials and diplomats in June last year.

The final phase has already come into force. The e-passports offer improved security, including images and a person's biographical and biometric data in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation's requirements.

The project had some initial problems. There were delays in the installation of an auto-gate to read the e-passports and in the hand-over of passports to the ministry. Production capacity was lower than the promised 3,000 books a day - and the fingerprint scan was not accurate.

The ministry submitted an official notice this week to the consortium demanding compensation for the delays, Kitti said. He declined to give a figure for the claim.

The ministry has set up a committee, chaired by deputy permanent secretary Piyawat Niyomrerks, to handle the compensation issue.

But all errors the ministry found were minor and not related to corruption, Kitti said.

Supalak Ganjanakhundee

The Nation