Sri Lanka to open ports and power grid to private investors: President

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has told investors that the government has put three things in place: transparent governance, the laws needed to protect business, and the infrastructure to support it. “We will do our part. You must do yours,” he said.

He was speaking at the Sri Lanka Economic and Investment Summit 2026, organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce at the Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo.

Faster spending, new procurement rules

The President said the 2027 Budget will plan Rs. 2 trillion in capital spending, well above previous years. Execution has been a weakness. The government spent 64% of its capital expenditure allocation in 2023 and 54% in 2024, rising to 76% in 2025 despite elections and natural disasters.

He blamed procurement rules built up over years of anti-corruption measures, which he said have become so stringent that it is difficult to get anything done quickly. They were also designed for buying goods, not software or ideas. The government will write new procedures for specialised areas, adopt electronic procurement and keep specialists in the public service on special salary scales.

Tenders will also be called in advance, once the Treasury confirms funding, instead of waiting until after the Budget is passed. The Kurunegala-Galewela expressway tender is expected to be awarded by January. The aim, he said, is to bring capital spending close to 100%.

Laws due early next year

The State-Owned Enterprises law will go to Cabinet in about two weeks. A public-private partnership law has been drafted by the Legal Draftsman’s Department and sent to the Attorney General.

Labour rules, now spread across about 12 Acts, have a draft that will be reviewed again. Amendments to the Customs Ordinance have been sent to the Legal Draftsman after the Chamber and the Customs Department reached agreement. He expects Parliament to pass all of them in January or February.

Private money for power lines

The government will build a high-voltage line from Kilinochchi to Habarana with Asian Development Bank (ADB) assistance. It plans to build the Puttalam-Wariyapola and Habarana-Veyangoda lines through the private sector, ending the Ceylon Electricity Board’s monopoly on transmission. Four grid lines have been selected and tenders will be called soon.

The President said competition cuts costs. A Mannar solar project priced at 8.22 US cents a unit was dropped when the developer would not go below five cents. Two later 50-megawatt tenders came in at 3.96 and 3.74 cents.

Solar capacity has grown by 1,500 megawatts in two years from a base of 1,400, with another 1,100 contracted for next year. A 160-megawatt battery tender is under way, and bids for a further 250 megawatts are about 10% cheaper. Renewables now supply about 69% of capacity.

Ports open to private management

The East Container Terminal handles about 500,000 containers against a capacity of 3.2 million. The Cabinet has decided to keep state ownership but set up a company to run it, with shares offered to private investors. Several major shipping lines are in talks.

The West Container Terminal’s second phase needs a breakwater, now estimated at US$1.4 billion, up from US$1.1 billion. The ADB is preparing the feasibility study, with an interim report in December and the full report by April. The President said earlier legal disputes over a logistics hub have been settled with compensation to the companies concerned, and that he hopes to offer relief on bunkering tax in the Budget.

A message to investors

Asked about concerns over the removal of the Simplified VAT (S-VAT) scheme, he said it had been leaking Rs. 10 billion a month in revenue. The government also wants to build a domestic business community able to partner foreign investors, and will offer land and service concessions for rural investment.

“I urge all of you to invest without fear,” he said.