Wednesday Sep 02, 2026
Wednesday Sep 02, 2026
Wednesday, 2 September 2026 00:28 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Sri Lanka’s largest procurer, the Government, is preparing a major expansion of electronic public procurement in 2027, as the cumulative value of e-procurements conducted through the national Promise.lk platform since 2020 topped Rs.41.9 billion.
The Finance, Planning and Economic Development Ministry said the next phase of the electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) system will be launched next year, supporting national and international competitive bidding for goods, works, consulting and non-consulting services.
This will widen the scope of a system presently concentrated on shopping-method goods procurement within specified financial limits.
Official data show 80,390 e-procurements valued at Rs.41.94 billion were conducted between 2020 and 31 July 2026. Adoption accelerated over the past two years, with the number of e-procurements rising from 2,812 in 2023 to 18,149 in 2024 and 31,099 in 2025.
During the first seven months of 2026, 25,294 procurements worth Rs.13.26 billion were conducted electronically, equivalent to about 87% of the value recorded during the whole of 2025.
The Promise.lk platform currently has 324 active procuring entities, comprising 19 Cabinet Ministries, 143 departments, 16 universities, 14 District Secretariats, 107 other Central Government organisations and 25 provincial organisations.
Nineteen of the country’s 25 Cabinet Ministries are active on the system, while 17 of 20 departments under the Ministry of Finance use e-GP. The Treasury said 90% of departments under the General Treasury undertake routine procurement through the platform, with goods procurements within applicable limits made mandatory for these departments.
Promise.lk currently allows Government procuring entities to conduct shopping-method goods procurements electronically, with bidders able to submit online bids through a secure system. Procurement notices and award details for other procurements can also be published online.
For Ministry Procurement Committees, the present e-GP ceiling is Rs.25 million for Government-funded procurement and Rs.35 million for foreign-funded procurement. The corresponding limits are Rs.20 million and Rs.30 million for Department and Project Procurement Committees, Rs.6 million for Regional Procurement Committees, and Rs.1 million and Rs.2 million respectively at Chief Accounting Officer, Head of Department and Project Director level.
The 2027 expansion will take e-GP beyond the current shopping-method goods framework. The Ministry said advanced procurement features such as reverse auctions and e-catalogues are also envisaged once adoption improves.
The expansion will also broaden digital access to procurement by the Government, which the Ministry described as the country’s single largest buyer.
To encourage participation, vendor registration fees on Promise.lk will be waived for a limited period from September 2026. The Ministry said expanding the registered supplier base is intended to increase competition and improve access to Government procurement opportunities.
The Ministry said e-GP enhances transparency and accountability, reduces administrative burdens, improves procurement efficiency and supplier access, strengthens electronic records and provides procurement data for analysis and decision-making.
The platform has also published more than 20,000 notices for procurements outside e-GP and over 12,000 procurement awards, with awarded bidder details and contract values disclosed.
Sri Lanka entered electronic Government procurement later than many countries in the region. The Ministry said this provides an opportunity to learn from international experience and accelerate implementation, with Promise.lk positioned for the next phase of the country’s public procurement digitalisation.
