The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce’s (CCC) National Agenda Committee (NAC) on Infrastructure presented a set of recommendations on fast-tracking Private-Public Partnerships (PPP) to Minister of Finance and Media Mangala Samaraweera recently and highlighted the need for a robust institutional and operational set up for the new PPP agency.
At a meeting held recently, the group presented their recommendations to the Minister and Ministry officials A. R. Desapriya (Deputy Secretary to the Treasury), K. A. Vimalenthirarajah (Director General of the Department of Trade and Investment Policy) and Deshal De Mel (Economic Advisor to the Ministry of Finance) and discussed priority issues to be tackled and ways of collaborating to advance the PPP investment agenda in Sri Lanka.
The NAC on Infrastructure first made representations to the Ministry of Finance in October 2016, on the need for PPPs and to establish a robust mechanism for dealing with PPPs in a transparent and profitable manner.
This subsequently saw the setting up of a PPP unit and a national PPP initiative, which was launched amidst 100 foreign investors at the Chamber’s Investment and Business Conclave 2017 held recently.
The Committee’s latest set of recommendations which focussed on developing guidelines to ensure efficient collaboration between the PPP unit and line ministries; prioritization of projects through developing a robust project pipeline; ensuring a fair, transparent and well managed procurement process; as well as implementing an effective communication strategy were well received by Minister Samaraweera.
The Chamber Committee and Ministry officials pledged to collaborate closely to promote PPP investment opportunities among domestic and international investors through the CCC.
The NAC on Infrastructure comprises leaders in private and public sectors with experience in infrastructure development, as well as representatives of multilateral development agencies. Since last year, the NAC has been continuously lobbying for the facilitation and fast-tracking of PPPs.
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