Leader of the House Susil Premajayantha informed Parliament that the company responsible for printing passports has been directed to produce 750,000 passports within a month.
He was responding opposition accusations of corruption and mismanagement in introducing a new passport system without following the proper tender process.
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa criticized the government for lacking a contingency plan during the transition to the e-passport system.
Minister Premajayantha acknowledged delays due to technical issues and admitted that the shortage of regular passports was due to inadequate stock management by the Department of Immigration and Emigration.
He assured that measures have been taken, following Cabinet discussions, to address the issue by printing the required passports as quickly as possible.
Customs have detected 228 mobile phones and tabs valued at over Rs 30 million left behind in the duty free shopping complex at the Banaranaike International Airport today, Customs officials said.
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