Tuesday Aug 25, 2026
Tuesday Aug 25, 2026
Tuesday, 25 August 2026 05:05 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, IQSSL President Hasitha Gunasekara, PAQS Chairman Goh Ngan Hong
Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya yesterday signalled a more rigorous approach to Sri Lanka’s infrastructure investments, saying projects must be subjected to stronger evidence-based assessment and demonstrate long-term economic and social value as the country operates under significant fiscal constraints.
– Pix by Shehan Gunasekara
She said infrastructure decisions should be guided by national priorities and reliable evidence, with the Government moving away from treating projects merely as individual construction activities towards viewing them as long-term public assets.
“Before a project is approved, we must have a clear understanding of the need it is intended to address, the alternatives available, the expected economic and social benefits, the environmental implications, the risks involved, and the resources required not only to construct the asset but also to operate and maintain it,” Dr. Amarasuriya said.
Addressing the Pacific Association of Quantity Surveyors (PAQS) Congress 2026 at Cinnamon Life at City of Dreams, Colombo, the Prime Minister said the approach was particularly important when governments faced significant fiscal constraints and competing demands for limited public resources.
“We must ask not only whether we can build something but whether we should build it at all, where it should be located, who will benefit from it, whether it can be sustained, and whether it represents the best possible use of resources,” she said.
“Every rupee invested by the State ultimately comes from the people,” she added, stressing that public investment must create measurable and lasting value.
Dr. Amarasuriya said Sri Lanka’s approach to infrastructure needed to evolve as the economy moved from recovery towards transformation, with investment decisions increasingly focused on resilience, productivity, and competitiveness.
She identified transport, housing, water supply, education, health, energy, urban development, and climate-resilient infrastructure among the areas requiring investment, but stressed that projects needed to be properly prioritised and supported by evidence.
The Prime Minister also called for greater attention to the utilisation, condition, and maintenance requirements of existing State assets, warning that constructing new infrastructure while neglecting existing assets was neither economically efficient nor sustainable.
She said quantity surveyors could play a wider role in investment appraisal, feasibility assessment, cost planning, procurement strategy, contract administration, risk management, value engineering, commercial governance, and sustainability, helping governments make better decisions on increasingly complex infrastructure investments.
Dr. Amarasuriya said the Government was committed to strengthening institutional capacity and public investment management, advancing procurement systems, and improving transparency and accountability in the delivery of public projects.
She nevertheless stressed that the Government could not achieve these objectives alone and called for stronger collaboration among Government agencies, professional institutions, universities, and the private sector.
Climate resilience would also have to play a greater role in infrastructure planning, she said, pointing to Sri Lanka’s repeated exposure to floods, landslides, and extreme weather and the continuing rebuilding of homes and public infrastructure damaged by last December’s floods.
Turning to technological change, the Prime Minister said future quantity surveyors would require familiarity with artificial intelligence (AI), digital construction technology, data analytics, sustainability standards, modern procurement systems, and asset management.
Institute of Quantity Surveyors Sri Lanka (IQSSL) President Hasitha Gunasekara said the return of the PAQS Congress to Colombo after 15 years came at a time when both the construction industry and quantity surveying profession were undergoing significant transformation.
He said digitalisation, AI, data-driven decision-making, and sustainability requirements were changing how projects were measured, estimated, designed, procured, managed, and delivered. However, he stressed that technology could enhance intelligence but could not replace professional judgment, integrity, and responsibility.
Gunasekara said future quantity surveyors would increasingly work with AI, digital models, real-time data, and automated systems, while their value would continue to depend on their ability to interpret information, assess risk, exercise judgment, manage resources responsibly, and make decisions that generated lasting value.
PAQS Chairman Goh Ngan Hong said the Association was expanding its regional footprint, with representatives from the Vietnam Association of Construction Economics and the Quantity Surveying Chapter of the Federation of Myanmar Engineering Societies admitted as new members at the PAQS Board meeting held ahead of the Congress.
He said the additions brought PAQS to 16 members and two associate members, with another two potential members likely to join in the coming years.
Goh said the Association, which is marking its 30th anniversary, had sought over the past three decades to promote cooperation in quantity surveying and cost engineering across the region. He said rapid advances in AI and digital technology were creating new challenges and opportunities for the industry and called on professionals to broaden their expertise and apply developments in the discipline across the markets in which they operate.
Sri Lanka last hosted a PAQS Congress in 2011.
