Kathmandu, Feb. 5 -- Amid concerns by various foreign bidders that the new bidding process for passport procurement lacks fairness, the Department of Passports on Tuesday said there are arrangements for all prospective bidders.

The Department of Passports in November last year issued a public notice calling international bidders to print and supply 6.4 million e-passports (biometric) over the next five years, offering Rs 12 billion for the service. But some bidders raised concerns over the bid documents and asked the department to amend some clauses alleging that they favour the present supplier IDEMIA, the France-based company that has been supplying and printing passports in Nepal since 2010.

"We have addressed most of the concerns ra...