Interior Minister Anas Khattab revealed the final arrangements and timetable for launching the project for new personal ID cards and official documents. He explained that completing the “unified national data bank” is the main pillar and first condition for launching the new civil affairs project.
Responding to a question during a meeting attended by an Enab Baladi correspondent in Hama on Tuesday, September 29, the minister said that specialized software teams had worked for about nine continuous months to merge and unify data into a comprehensive, unified database covering the whole country.
According to the minister, this followed a review of records received from the local councils in northern Aleppo, the eastern areas and the former system in Idlib, in addition to the central civil registry records.
On the ID card and official documents, the minister explained that the IDs issued previously (before liberation) suffered from formal and technical flaws. The main ones were the omission of the official name “the Syrian Arab Republic”, a design suited only to a limited period, and poor-quality PVC printing material that no longer meets modern quality and security standards.
Contract With a Global Company
The minister revealed that an official contract was signed about three weeks ago with one of the top three global companies specializing in printing and digital identity technologies, following a comparison of more than 60 international bids.
According to the minister, the contract covers the supply of equipment and materials for issuing personal ID cards, passports and driver’s licenses, in line with the highest standards of protection, digital security and modern visual design.
The minister stressed that all national databases will remain under the full management and sovereignty of local staff inside the country, with the company’s role limited to providing technical support and the necessary equipment. He noted that production and printing will be carried out entirely locally.
Issuance Between April and May
On the launch timetable, the minister said the new IDs and documents are likely to begin being issued between April and May of next year. He declined to give an exact date until work on four implementation tracks is complete.
According to the minister, the tracks tied to issuing the IDs are: preparing the service centers that will receive citizens, training the staff who will run the project, completing the software system and the applications linked to the unified database, and supplying and installing the printing devices and technical equipment.
Centers Ready After the First Quarter of 2027
In a related development, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) quoted the interior minister as saying that the ministry is working to complete the procedures and preparations needed to launch the new personal ID card project. He expected the centers to be ready to begin registration after the first quarter of 2027.
In a statement to SANA during the opening of two new civil registry departments in Hama, the minister said that after the first quarter of 2027 the ministry will be ready to start receiving registration applications for the new cards. Issuance will begin after a set period, according to the project’s implementation phases.
Khattab noted that the ministry will soon start sourcing and supplying the specialized equipment needed for the project, in parallel with preparing dedicated centers outside the civil registry offices to handle the collection of data and biometrics and photography.
He also pointed out that work is under way on several tracks in parallel, including training staff, preparing centers and completing implementation of the contract signed with the specialized company.
Two Civil Registry Departments Opened in Hama
The statements came on the sidelines of the interior minister’s opening of the first and second civil registry departments in the city of Hama, during a field visit to the governorate. The openings are part of the ministry’s continuing plans to develop the civil registry sector and improve services to citizens, ensuring that their transactions are completed quickly and their burdens are eased by simplifying procedures.
The first civil registry department in Hama (Barudiya) has begun receiving visitors to issue and register all civil events. It offers a comfortable, organized environment, with an air-conditioned waiting room and an electronic queue system. It has 21 service windows and can handle more than 700 visitors a day.
