Friday Nov 07, 2025
Friday Nov 07, 2025
Friday, 7 November 2025 00:12 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Charumini de Silva
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.
However, experts have warned that institutional fragmentation and overlapping legal mandates could undermine the effectiveness of these reforms if not addressed urgently.
National Procurement Commission (NPC) Member Dr. Asanga Gunawansa who was also present at the forum cautioned that the Government must “put its house in order” before implementing multiple frameworks that may confuse both local and foreign investors (https://www.ft.lk/front-page/Top-expert-flags-overlapping-mandates-legal-confusion-in-Sri-Lanka-s-PPP-framework/44-783977).
