Sri Lankan government moves to enact PPP framework in Q1 next year
Daily FT: Sri Lanka is set to finalise its long-awaited Public–Private Partnership (PPP) Act by early next year, as authorities race to create a coherent legal and institutional framework to attract private investment into public infrastructure, whilst addressing overlaps among multiple government entities currently handling procurement and PPP oversight.
National Agency for Public–Private Partnership (NAPPP) CEO Dr. Sulakshana Jayawardena said the final draft of the PPP Act is now with the Attorney General’s Department for final review, following extensive consultations with stakeholders. “Our expectation is to get the Cabinet of Ministers’ approval within this month and publish the gazette to submit to Parliament for approval by the second week of next month,” he said, adding that the Government aims to enact the law by January 2026.
Speaking at a high-level forum in Colombo titled “PPP: Partnership and Prosperity for People” organised by the High Commission of India, in collaboration with the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC), he noted that the new framework will also introduce comprehensive PPP procurement guidelines developed jointly with the National Procurement Commission (NPC) and supported by expert consultants drafting related regulations.
In parallel, he said the authorities are working on a Screening and Scoring Tool to evaluate PPP projects, which is expected to be ready by the end of the first quarter of next year.
“We’re not waiting until all these documents are ready. Work with line agencies is ongoing so that projects can move forward in tandem,” Dr. Jayawardena explained, emphasising the need to ensure readiness before partner selection to avoid implementation delays.
As part of the Government’s wider effort to improve investor confidence, he revealed that a new Investment Protection Act is also being drafted. “The concept paper has already been prepared and will be submitted to the Cabinet for approval shortly. We aim to have the Act in place within the first quarter of next year, as announced in Budget 2025,” he said.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s ongoing economic expansion and the ongoing development programmes aimed at taking the country to the next level of development present many business/investment opportunities for foreign businesses/investors. With the country working on becoming a hub in the South Asian region supported by Sri Lanka’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean and the strong trade ties enjoyed with many foreign countries, Sri Lanka’s development path has created many lucrative business ventures, many of them being revolving business ventures with guaranteed financial returns. It is in such a backdrop that the Sri Lankan government is focused on expanding the scope for PPPs and streamlining the processes involved to attract more foreign direct investments (FDIs) to the country. The growth and profits recorded by foreign businesses/investors already doing business in Sri Lanka as well as the country’s improving ease of doing business environment as well as the incentives offered to foreign businesses/investors have all made the country an emerging business destination in the region. Given that Sri Lanka is pushing towards becoming a regional hub by opening many key economic sectors for foreign investments, foreign businesses/investors could confidently explore the emerging PPP opportunities in Sri Lanka. Foreign businesses could also look at engaging in these PPPs through local collaborations.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20251110/Z_3 |