• App envisaged to become hub for State’s broader digital ecosystem
• Information collected to be protected by legislation

The Ministry of Digital Economy will call for Expressions of Interest (EOIs) or issue a formal tender for the proposed ‘Government Super App’ within the next two weeks, while also aiming to begin rolling out the platform in early 2026.

Confirming the timeline to The Sunday Morning, Ministry of Digital Economy Acting Secretary Waruna Sri Dhanapala described the Rs. 500 million initiative as a central platform that would integrate the Government’s key digital services with the national digital identity system and digital payments positioned at its core.

Dhanapala explained that the super app was not being developed as a standalone application but as a hub for the State’s broader digital ecosystem. 

“It will be linked to GovPay and the Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity (SLUDI),” he said, referring to the Government’s payments and digital identity systems. “Both will be fundamental components of this proposed super app.”

When asked about safeguards for the vast amounts of citizen data the platform would process, he stressed that security was being embedded at every stage. 

“We must ensure that the data providers on the other end, such as the Department of Motor Traffic or other agencies feeding data into the system, are also secure,” he noted. 

He added that all information would be covered by the personal data protection provisions prescribed by law.

The ministry is preparing several tender documents, each reflecting the ‘secure by design’ principle. “At the design stage, we want to establish ‘secure by design’ as a fundamental principle, which will be embedded in one of the documents,” Dhanapala said.

On the question of capacity, the Acting Secretary expressed confidence that Sri Lankan technology companies could deliver on the scale required. “This is open for Sri Lankan companies and we are confident that Sri Lankan companies can handle projects of this scale,” he said. 

While not ruling out foreign involvement in the project, he emphasised that the preference was for national companies to take the lead. “I am not sure yet about the mode of engagement we are expecting from foreign parties or whether they will be allowed. It is too early to say,” he said.

Dhanapala also pointed out that the country’s digital infrastructure was advancing in parallel with the project. “Both cloud infrastructure and network infrastructure are developing. It is a parallel journey. As the services and number of users grow, we will parallelly invest in and open up other digital public infrastructure,” he said.

He also stated that citizens may see limited services before the full launch of the super app. “There are several conditionalities. We will try our best to introduce a couple of services before the end of this year. Hopefully, by January or February next year, we will see the first five or six services on this app,” Dhanapala noted.

While the official name of the application is yet to be decided, the ministry is reviewing names of international models such as Singapore’s and Malaysia’s Government applications, while also considering the adoption of a uniquely Sri Lankan identity. “It is good to have a local name as well, so we are still looking at our options. We have not finalised a name yet,” Dhanapala said.