Ethiopia’s Bets on $55m Plant for E-passports

A 55-million-dollar industrial security printing plant at Bole Lemi Industrial Park has expedited printing of e-passports under a joint venture arrangement, Toppan Security Ethiopia S.C. With the capability to print over five million passports annually at full operations, the plant is set to issue a digital identity verification system.

Immigration & Citizenship Services (ICS) has launched the service today at the Science Museum. Officials disclosed that the service maintains the current price while promising delivery within two months and 10 days.

With 1.5 million passports in stock, the local printing is expected to begin in October.

ICS has invested 2.5 billion Br in telecom and data centre infrastructure. An additional 80 million dollars has been used for document procurement, including 1.5 million passports at 50 dollars each, 300,000 alien passports and yellow cards at eight dollars each, and half a million emergency travel documents and laissez-passers at five dollars each.

“This is a massive investment,” ICS Deputy Director-General Gosa Demissie told Fortune.

The e-passport integrates an embedded electronic chip, which not only stores the data found in Machine-readable Passports (MRPs) but also incorporates biometric information, such as facial recognition, fingerprints, or iris scans, to streamline border controls and bolster security measures.

The company was incorporated in 2023, in a joint venture arrangement between Toppan Gravity (51pc), a subsidiary of the Japan-based Toppan Inc., and the Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH), through its subsidiaries, Berhanena Selam Printing Enterprise (BSPE) and Education Materials Production Distribution Enterprise (EMPDE).

Brook Taye (PhD), CEO of EIH, described the arrangement as “one of the most important strategic investments to date.”

The initiative was launched in the presence of President Taye Atsqesellasie, marking a strategic shift from the current MRP system to a more secure and efficient model. Officials from Immigration & Citizenship Services (ICS), along with executives from EIH and Toppan Security Ethiopia S.C., praised the modernised registration and issuance systems that will accompany the rollout of the e-passports.

President Taye urged Immigration staff to prioritise citizen service, coinciding with the upgraded passport system.

“Passport holders should not be persecuted," he said.