SINGAPORE : The Singapore biometric passport project will cost S$9.7 million, and the key company chosen to undertake this project is NEC Solutions Asia Pacific.
Other companies working with NEC Solutions Asia Pacific will be NCS, SNP Security Printing and Gemplus Technologies Asia.
The new biometric passports will incorporate facial and fingerprint information and will be valid for five years.
It will also make use of an inventory control number as the passport number, instead of the using NRIC number.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has said that the new biometric passports will help combat smuggling of aliens and terrorist activities through the use of forged travel documents.
The Ministry will start issuing the Singapore biometric passports in October. - CNA