By: Staff Writer
October 25, Colombo (LNW): The Sri Lankan government is fast-tracking the development of a legally enforceable national building code, a move seen as overdue yet crucial amid a concurrent rapid rebound in the country’s construction sector. National Building Research Organization (NBRO) officials, aided by World Bank technical support, have prepared the framework for what Cabinet spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa described as comprehensive standards addressing building structural integrity, fire and electrical safety, plumbing, energy efficiency and disaster resilience.
With the building industry projected to grow by about 7.9% in real terms in 2025, driven by both public and private investment, the timing of the code rollout is critical.
The official construction PMI climbed to 52.9 in January 2025 from 51.4 in December 2024, indicating broad‐based expansion in activity, new orders, and input purchasing.
Industry insiders note that the pipeline of new residential, commercial and infrastructure projects is gaining momentum though consistent data on active building counts remain sparse.
Why now? Sri Lanka has long operated without a unified national code, which has left structural safety, build quality and regulatory oversight patchy. “In the absence of a national building code currently in force, Sri Lanka has faced serious issues relating to structural safety, quality, and regulation of the construction industry,” Jayatissa acknowledged. The IMF had previously designated developing climate-resilient building codes as a priority reform area for Sri Lanka.
The upcoming code will set legally enforceable standards across the lifecycle of buildings—from design to maintenance and alteration. This represents a major step beyond prior guidelines. Yet, the construction sector’s accelerated growth—buoyed by renewed investor interest, mass housing and infrastructure programmes, and improving economic sentiment—heightens the urgency for robust frameworks.
The expansion is not without risk. Rapid growth in construction often outpaces regulatory capacity and enforcement mechanisms. Supply‐chain strains, rising materials and labour costs, and a surge of small‐scale developments can amplify vulnerabilities unless controls keep pace. The January 2025 bulletin from the Construction Industry Development Authority (CIDA) also flagged monthly volatility in material price indices and labour cost swings.
By embedding standards for fire safety, electrical systems, plumbing, energy efficiency and disaster resilience, the new code aims to mitigate risks associated with landslides, flooding and earthquakes hazards increasingly relevant in Sri Lanka’s changing climate. The government’s recent approval of the NBRO project proposal marks the official launch of the governance architecture for the codes.
Still, implementation will be the real test. Moving from blueprint to enforcement requires clarity on institutional roles, funding, training of inspectors, and mechanisms for compliance and penalties. The code’s success will depend on how swiftly it can be rolled out across both high-end and informal construction, and how effectively it aligns with the industry’s growth trajectory currently.
As Sri Lanka’s construction sector regains momentum, the national building code stands as a necessary partner to that revival ensuring growth is not just fast, but safe, sustainable and resilient.
