Energy and infrastructure development is the foundation of national progress. Energy and infrastructure projects demand not only strategic vision but also precise legal navigation through complex frameworks of policy, regulation, and risk.
Our team at D. L. & F. De Saram provides comprehensive guidance to clients involved in major energy and infrastructure projects, from power generation and public-private partnerships (PPP) in Sri Lanka to the legal aspects of project financing and construction regulation. Our work supports sustainable, compliant, and commercially viable development across multiple sectors.
Energy is a central part of that work. We advise on projects across the energy value chain, from power generation, including renewable energy, to transmission, distribution and utilities, as well as oil and gas.
Our Expertise in Energy & Infrastructure
Infrastructure development refers to the creation and enhancement of essential facilities and systems that support economic and social growth. This includes ports, highways, utilities, and energy projects; areas in which our firm has played a central legal advisory role.
Our team combines in-depth legal expertise with an understanding of public procurement, the sectoral laws and regulations that govern energy and infrastructure project development, laws that apply to construction, including Urban Development Authority (UDA) regulations, environmental laws and regulations, and the public policy of Sri Lanka that governs such projects.
We have counselled a diverse range of stakeholders – sponsors, institutional investors, lenders, developers, commercial banks, and government entities – across projects involving:
- Power generation, including renewable energy
- Electricity transmission and distribution
- Energy and utility law
- Oil and gas
- Ports and terminal development
- Highway development and construction
- Public-private partnerships (PPP)
- Concession and implementation agreements
Infrastructure investment fuels national growth and enhances quality of life. Our objective is to assist our clients to engage in legally sound and financially secure projects that are aligned with government policy and Sri Lanka’s governing regulatory framework.
Legal Services for Energy Projects
We advise developers, investors, lenders, utilities and government entities on energy projects at every stage, including:
- Power purchase agreements (PPAs) and other offtake arrangements
- Project structuring, including PPP and other project delivery models
- Licensing and regulatory approvals for generation, transmission and supply
- Renewable energy projects, including solar, wind and hydropower
- Fuel supply, transport and storage arrangements
- Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and operation and maintenance (O&M) contracts
- Energy project financing and security arrangements, working with our Banking & Finance practice
Comprehensive Legal Services for Energy and Infrastructure Projects
Our legal services cover every stage of the project cycle:
- Advising on procurement and tendering law
- Structuring Sri Lankan Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements
- Drafting and reviewing concession, implementation and power purchase agreements
- Advising on project financing law and direct lending arrangements
- Ensuring compliance with environmental impact assessment (EIA) law
- Advising on construction and planning regulations in Sri Lanka, setting up of project entities, transactional tax, all related labour matters, foreign exchange law that facilitates inward and outward remittance of capital and profits, and generally all relevant and applicable laws
- Assisting with government projects and policy alignment
We guide clients through every phase, from tendering and project finance to project entity set up, land acquisition, labour compliance, dispute resolution, and post-completion operational issues. We work closely with our Construction practice on building and engineering contracts, and with our ESG practice on environmental and social risk. Through close collaboration with our clients, we deliver legal solutions that balance opportunity, compliance, and innovation.
