Govt to buy 40 lakh machine readable passport booklets

GBNEWS24 DESK//

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved a proposal in principle for procuring four million (40 lakh) Machine Readable Passport (MRP) booklets and four million lamination foils on Direct Procurement Method (DPM) to meet the growing demand of passports, reports BSS.

The approval came from this year’s 22nd meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs held on Wednesday virtually with Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in the chair.

The Department of Immigration and Passports under the Ministry of Home Affairs will procure these MRP booklets and lamination foils.

Briefing reporters virtually after the meeting, Cabinet Division Additional Secretary Dr Abu Saleh Mostafa Kamal said that based on ‘demand calculation’ these MRP booklets and lamination foils will be procured.

Answering to a question, he said that if the government could have fully launched the e-passports in the country, then there would have been no such necessity of using more MRPs. There is no denying that there was an impact of the COVID-19 in this regard, he added.

The Cabinet Division additional secretary said the 31st meeting on Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) in this year was also held today virtually with Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in the chair where it gave approval to a total of four proposals – all from the Power Division.

Saleh said the CCGP meeting approved a proposal of the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) for awarding the contract for installing 17,040km conductor to the lowest bidder Rangpur Metal Industries Limited (unit 3) with a cost of around Taka 47.10 crore.

The meeting also okayed a proposal from the BREB for procuring 35km 11kv and 33kv underground cable from the lowest bidder BBS Cables Ltd with around Taka 16.52 crore.

Saleh said the CCGP meeting gave nod to another proposal from the BREB for procuring 295km conductor from the lowest bidder Partex Cables Limited with a cost of around Taka 2.56 crore.