Renewed MRP, MRV project to cost Tk 1.33b extra

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The government has extended the machine readable passport (MRP) and machine readable visa (MRV) project by signing a renewal contract with Malaysian firm IRIS Corporation Berhad JV. According to the Malaysian firm, the contract was extended for another two years as the Department of Immigration and Passport (DIP) and the IRIS Corporation Berhad signed a contract with the firm in Dhaka recently, reports UNB. Under the renewed contract, the cost of the project has gone up by about Tk 1.33 billion to nearly Tk 6.89 billion from the previous cost of Tk 5.56 billion. Earlier, the Cabinet Purchase Committee on November 4 last year approved a Home Ministry proposal to extend the job of the Malaysian firm and also the extra payment. As per the renewed contract, the Malaysian firm is due to increase the production and issuance of 15,000 MRP per day on average instead of 8,000 per day earlier. It will also appoint 400 extra manpower and install additional machinery and software for the extended tenure of the project. The Malaysian firm IRIS Corporation Berhad and its JV partners Polish Security Printing Works and Data Edge Limited obtained the contract in 2010 for producing MRP and MRV and also managing the whole project with software and hardware across the country.