The Central Bank last week concluded a contract with De La Rue International Ltd for the supply and maintenance of a CPS 1500-5 Currency Processing System. The contract was awarded to De La Rue following an international call for tenders.

The new processor, which can handle 1,500 banknotes per minute, will be used for the authentication and quality sorting of both Maltese lira and euro banknotes.

The new system will enhance the bank's banknote sorting facilities to three times their present level. This increase in processing facilities is being undertaken both to deal more efficiently with the existing market demand for cash and in anticipation of the additional workload that will be created by the forthcoming changeover to the euro.

The contract was signed by Luc Dorget, Southern Europe sales manager for De La Rue Cash Systems, and David Pullicino, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Malta.

The Central Bank has had a long-standing relationship with De La Rue, which operates a currency printing works in Malta and is also the supplier of Maltese lira banknotes.