Tenders in Sri Lanka

Public procurement in Sri Lanka

Key facts for bidders, checked against official sources (2026-10). General information, not legal advice. Always confirm the rules in the tender documents and on the official portal.

Main procurement law

Procurement Guidelines 2024 (Goods, Works and Non-Consulting Services), issued by the National Procurement Commission under Article 156C of the Constitution (2024)

Regulator

National Procurement Commission (NPC)

WTO procurement agreement

Sri Lanka is not a party to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement.

Foreign bidders

Foreign firms may bid, either directly or through an accredited local agent with proof of authority from the principal. On government-funded contracts the 2024 Guidelines give a margin of preference to qualifying domestic bidders and to goods made in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is not a party to the WTO GPA; it has been an observer since 2003.

Notice languages

English, Sinhala, Tamil

Currency

LKR

Good to know

Sri Lanka has no standalone procurement act. The NPC Guidelines, published in Gazette Extraordinary 2412/01, replaced the 2006 guidelines from 1 January 2025. The Ministry of Finance's e-GP system (PROMISe) is still being rolled out.

Trade snapshot

GDP (2025)

US$108.8 billion

Exports (2025)

US$20.6 billion in goods and services

Imports (2025)

US$24.9 billion in goods and services

Trade share (2025)

42% of GDP

Average tariff (2021)

4.4% (applied, trade-weighted, all products)

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0).

Sri Lanka on FreeTender right now

39 open notices; the busiest sectors are education & training (6), water & environment (4), it & telecom (4), construction & infrastructure (4) and financial & professional services (3).

Most active buyers: UNDP (10), Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (9), ILO (4), Road Development Authority (2), FAO (2).

Sources: treasury.gov.lk · nprocom.gov.lk · trade.gov · tender.navy.lk

About tenders in Sri Lanka

Public bodies and private organisations in Sri Lanka publish tenders to procure goods, works and services. On FreeTender you can browse open opportunities by sector, read the full notice and key dates, and go to the official source to verify and apply. Set up a free alert to be notified as soon as new Sri Lanka tenders that match your keywords are published.

Browse Sri Lanka tenders by sector