South Africa’s Airport Authority Cancels IDEMIA Contract

Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) has terminated a contract with French technology firm IDEMIA, which was responsible for implementing a biometric and digital identity system at South African airports. The project, valued at R115 million, involved the development of Automated Border Control (ABC), e-Gates, and a single token system aimed at improving passenger experience.

The termination was made in accordance with the Service Level Agreement, allowing a 60-day period for IDEMIA to complete ongoing work. Despite the termination, ACSA emphasized the importance of the biometric project in its strategic plans and indicated intentions to pursue the initiative in the future.

This decision follows the suspension of ACSA’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) earlier in August, after preliminary investigations revealed potential wrongdoing related to the project.

In August 2023, IDEMIA was awarded an overarching 380 million rand (approximately $20.8 million) contract by ACSA to implement a Passenger Flow Facilitation (PFF) solution across nine South African airports. The project, set to span four years, involved deploying IDEMIA’s ID2Travel biometric system, including e-Gates for border control, at South Africa’s three main international airports before expanding to six domestic airports.

Controversy arose when it was revealed that IDEMIA had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with ACSA in 2021, a year before the contract was advertised. This raised questions about whether IDEMIA had unfairly influenced the tender specifications. Additionally, IDEMIA’s trademarks were reportedly incorporated into the tender documents, further fueling suspicions of preferential treatment.

ACSA denied any wrongdoing, stating that the MOU was a non-binding arrangement aimed at understanding the functioning of the token system in the biometric movement control system. The agency insisted that IDEMIA did not function as both “referee and player” in the tender process.

The contract also faced new scrutiny earlier this year, with allegations that IDEMIA secured the deal under questionable circumstances, sidelining its B-BBEE partner, InfoVerge. ACSA has committed to an independent investigation to address the concerns raised.

Sources: ITWeb, East Coast Radio, Engineering News

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August 27, 2024 – by Cass Kennedy