Reference is made to the tender project for Thailand's Electronic Passport (Third Phase) for which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had earlier indicated that the final tender documents would be released on 27 February 2018. Given widespread public interest in project and the many comments received from the private sector, the Ministry has decided to postpone the release date of the said tender documents.

 

The Ministry is presently responding to the comments received and will consider adjusting the details of the tender process accordingly, especially with regards to requests made to extend the time period before the dates for submission of the official bid and for conducting the benchmark test. The project’s terms of reference (TOR) will therefore be amended as appropriate, bearing in mind that any extension will have to take into account the overall timeframe required for the all the necessary preparations, in particular the need to commence operations on 1 March 2019. 

 

In conducting this tender process, the importance given by Ministry to the issue of transparency and ensuring fairness to all parties must be emphasized with every attempt made to ensure that the process is fully in compliance with the Government Procurement Act (B.E. 2560) and all other relevant regulations. Furthermore, independent representatives from civil society as part of the Integrity Pact, including those from the Anti-Corruption Organization of Thailand (ACT), are also observing the whole tender process.