The Budget Speech 2024 revealed that Sri Lanka plans to accelerate Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to secure the required investments and expertise to facilitate continued provision of much needed public infrastructure projects across the country. Against the backdrop of Sri Lanka’s efforts to come out of its current economic crisis, which was largely caused by the mismanagement of public finances and unsustainable levels of national debt - partly taken to fund large scale public infrastructure projects, this indication to involve the private sector in public infrastructure service provision going forward is a positive and sustainable sign.
However, the PPP framework in Sri Lanka at present is characterised by multiple institutional and regulatory weaknesses, which should be resolved before PPPs can fully serve to facilitate sustainable infrastructure investments in the country.
Here is the link to the Advocata Policy Brief on The Role of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) as a Sustainable Alternative to Public Infrastructure Investments in Sri Lanka
