Santo Domingo.- The General Directorate of Public Procurement (DGCP) has suspended the contracting process for the design, supply, and issuance of electronic passports due to findings that could violate the principles of participation, free competition, and equality.
This contract, classified under a “national security exception” and valued at 6,000 million pesos, received expressions of interest from 25 national and international companies by May 27. However, only two companies submitted bids, both of which are domestic, with one having prior contracts with the Passport Directorate. Among the 23 companies that opted out, several had connections to allied states and relevant experience.
In Administrative Act 036-2024, dated August 27, the DGCP cited preventive monitoring of the national security exception procedure and forwarded this to the Passport Directorate. The agency, which has faced recent passport supply challenges, has not issued a public response. DGCP is evaluating information from the Passport Directorate and has gathered data from the 23 companies that initially expressed interest but did not submit bids, raising concerns about the widespread withdrawal.