Access to regain number plate deal by selling president’s name

Apr 08, 2016

The Access Group owned by Sumal Perera is planning to regain the contract to print number plates for vehicles, ‘Sathhanda’ reports. Tenders are called for this contract every four years, and it was Access that obtained it for the past eight years.

Chief of staff of the former president Gamini Senarath has helped Access to get the tender back. Also, a former transport minister has received a cut. Sumal gets the number plates printed by Germany’s UTSCH.

 

The average number of number plates being printed a month is between 50,000 and 60,000, and the selling price is Rs. 1,200 per number plate. Earning an income of Rs. 60 million a month, Access gets a net profit of around Rs. 40 million. On February 29, international tenders were called to print number plates for the next four years. The period to call tenders was restricted to April 11, in order for Access to regain it. This was despite several other companies were to place their bids. After the revelation, the other companies made a request and the period was extended until May 03.

 

The bids should accompany 30 samples, and the extension has been made in consideration of a request that time was needed to get them printed.

 

Access is trying to prevent other bidders from getting the tender, and has launched a secret campaign using the name Chaminda Sirisena, said to be a brother of president Maithripala Sirisena. A top official of the presidential secretariat is indirectly involved in this, in order to see that Access gets back the tender.