Interior Ministry close to naming printer for ID cards

The consortium of the Treasury mint and Hungarian company Multipolaris will be granted the license to print new Polish plastic ID cards. The tender worth zl 1.2 billion is lingering as the Interior Minister demands more precise information concerning the deal. Moreover rumors are circulating that Multipolaris will not be able to carry out the project. Interior Ministry officials say such rumors are unjustified. According to the president of the Treasury mint Andrzej Platek, the contract has already been approved of by the Ministry. Still, it will not be concluded very soon because of the actions of co-investors. Among those named to be part of the project are Polish cell phone operator Era GSM, Hewlett Packard, Hungarian Securities Printing House and German Mauer Elektronic Gmbh. The new ID will look like a credit card with all data coded in the magnetic bar. (Rzeczpospolita, page B2) J.K.