Sri Lanka is to introduce its Public Private Partnership Act in Q3 this year, having previously been slated to be introduced in the first quarter of the year, Board of Investments Sri Lanka Director General Sulakshana Jayawardena said at the Research Intelligence Unit (RIU) Infracon conference held recently (3).

“When it comes to the public private partnerships, again there is no proper legal framework to implement public-private partnerships in Sri Lanka. The Government has recognised this requirement. Now we are in the latter part of introducing necessary legal provisions for the implementation of infrastructure projects through the public private partnership mechanism,” Jayawardena said.

Back in November 2025 – acting within the role of the National Agency for Public-Private Partnership’s (NAPPP) Chief Executive Officer – Jayawardena informed the media that the legal framework, namely the draft bill for the Public Private Partnership Act, was to be implemented in Q1 this year. 

“This legal framework is to be introduced very soon. Our target is to introduce it within the third quarter of this year. There are ways and means to address these kinds of challenges.”

Some of the key provisions within the draft PPP Act includes provisions for a uniform legal framework for regulating PPP contracts in Sri Lanka; substitution of existing project identification, appraisal and implementation processes; adherence to the  Public Finance Management Act, No. 44 of 2024, as well as national-level procurement procedure, and mandatory full value for money and feasibility appraisals – which are to be completed before entering into the PPP model.

BOI Executive Director Priyanka Samaraweera, within a panel discussion held during the Infracon conference added that the BOI had identified certain locations, which include the Government’s own PPP with CHEC Port City Colombo; Port City Colombo, ready for PPP-based projects, within its territory. “We have identified certain structural projects there [Port City Colombo], which we can go for on PPP basis,” Samaraweera said.

Additionally, she mentioned that the investment promotion agency had identified locations in Kurunegala, Galle, Digana and Nuwara Eliya for PPP-based techno-parks - for which the Asian Development Bank has assisted the agency with developing concessionary agreements, for the purpose.

“Apart from that, the BOI has identified and is looking to develop four techno parks; one in Kurunegala, Galle, Digana and Niwara Eliya, for which we encourage the investment in terms of PPP basis. At the moment we have even developed the concessionary agreements with the support of the ADB.” 

Samaraweera further noted the new legal framework, and its enhanced capital allowance incentives are to fall in line with the incentives mechanism of the Strategic Development Projects Act (SDP).

“We have developed these terms of incentives under the SDP Act, and also the enhanced capital allowance. So that will be one way of attracting investment. We are also planning to establish these four techno parks with the PPP model – it is with the assistance of the ADB that we have developed this concessionary agreement.”