Treasury Secretary Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma has told business leaders that the private sector can compete for an estimated Rs 2 trillion in public investment opportunities in 2027 — but only through open tender, with unsolicited proposals explicitly ruled out.
Delivering the keynote at the 16th Daily FT–Colombo University MBA Alumni Association post-budget forum, Suriyapperuma said the Rs 2 trillion allocation would generate work across highways, roads, railways, ports, airports and sports infrastructure, and offered firms a route to expand beyond a domestic market of 22 million people.
He said a key distinction in the government’s new investment approach was the rejection of unsolicited proposals and of projects that lacked adequate feasibility assessment, in favour of transparent and competitive procurement. He cited wind and battery energy storage projects awarded through open processes as evidence that competition delivered better value, arguing these were not signs of the government turning investors away but of a determination to secure better terms for taxpayers.
The remarks come as the government moves to legislate a level playing field between state-owned enterprises and private businesses.
“The challenge is no longer simply to formulate ambitious plans, but to build the national capacity to implement them, withstand external shocks and create a competitive economy in which both public and private enterprises could thrive,” he said.
Suriyapperuma named implementation capacity, financing capacity and resilience to external shocks as the three tests of whether budget allocations become real economic output. He said the government had stabilised the economy through tighter fiscal discipline, stronger reserves and an improved sovereign rating, and that the final review of the IMF-supported programme is expected in March 2027.
Budget architecture and administrative reforms
He described Budget 2027 as resting on seven broad objectives and six strategic pillars, supported by around 40 implementation measures spanning macroeconomic stability, a production-oriented economy, technology, human capital, regional economic integration, energy security and climate resilience.
On administrative reform, he pointed to the digital VAT refund mechanism, the paperless Customs initiative introduced on 1 October, and the National Single Window platform, which went live in a limited implementation phase on 5 November. The platform is being rolled out in stages — exports first, then imports and transhipment — with tea and coconut selected for a first phase covering more than 120 HS codes.
SME financing nearly doubles
Suriyapperuma said SME financing would rise to Rs 174 billion in 2027 from Rs 97 billion in the 2026 budget. He said most 2026 lending initiatives were fully committed by 30 September, and that Cabinet had approved an additional Rs 7 billion for disbursement in November and December. He attributed the uptake to monthly Treasury monitoring meetings with commercial banks, and said banks would take the lead in identifying and financing eligible enterprises under the 2027 package.
He also said an unnamed multilateral development partner had pledged additional financing to expand the government’s collateral-free lending scheme.
Sourcing note
This account rests on a single source. The forum was co-organised by Daily FT, which published the only report of the Treasury Secretary’s remarks located by this desk; no other verified newsroom carried the event. Readers should note that the publisher of the source had an organisational interest in the event it covered.
Not reported: no filing gives the legislative timetable for the SOE level-playing-field law, names the multilateral partner behind the expanded collateral-free lending, or breaks the Rs 2 trillion figure down by sector or project. Nor does any filing state how the Rs 2 trillion capital allocation relates to the headline capital spending figures in the budget documents.