Thailand stalls national id card plan

Thailand stalls national ID card plan:

Thailand has put its THB1.6 billion (EUR34 million) plan to launch national smart ID cards on hold. According to a report in The Bangkok Post, the Cabinet has asked the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Ministry to take over the project, which was being handled by the Interior Ministry's Bureau of Registration Administration (BORA).

BORA had awarded a contract for the supply of 20 million magnetic stripe cards when the Cabinet intervened, saying that it wanted the ID cards to be high-tech smart cards.

The ICT Ministry plans to review card specifications for the project, along with materials and the system for the issuing of cards. Earlier this month, the ID card plan was criticised by research firm Gartner, which said that the project was poorly planned and that the project's leaders had not consulted adequately with the government, private sector, public or industry experts.

Gartner analyst Dion Wiggins said that planning and launching the ID card system could take one to two years; the government had originally planned to launch the system early next year.

--ElectricNews.Net 2003-10-23