Australia has scrapped its biometric identification project after months of delay and budget overshoots. The contract, initiated in 2016, was intended to expand the national fingerprint database to include facial recognition, palm prints and footprints.

The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission suspended its contract with NEC Australia on June 4, and terminated it on Friday, said Michael Phelan, the chief executive officer of the agency. “This decision was taken in light of project delays,” he said.

In November 2017, an independent report prepared by PriceWaterhouseCoopers had recommended that the contract be completely overhauled and its scope be reduced, reported The Sydney Morning Herald. The report found that the project had run more than 40 million Australian dollars (Rs 203 crore) over its budget.

“The project has been highly challenged to date, and presents a high risk to the ACIC [Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission],” the report had said. “There is low confidence in likelihood of delivery which requires focus to achieve turnaround.”

NEC Australia said it was disappointed that the contract had been cancelled, and defended the company’s work. A spokesman said it already had “a high quality solution that will meet their needs”.