A massive Rs. 60 billion vehicle tender has ignited political outrage after allegations that the process was engineered so only one bidder, Toyota, could qualify, raising serious questions about transparency, urgency, and potential corruption.
Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna MP D. V. Chanaka has accused the government of pushing through what he calls a highly corrupt and pre-arranged Rs. 60 billion cab tender. Speaking during the budget debate in Parliament, he claimed the tender process lacked transparency, fairness, and the minimum standards required for an international procurement of this scale. According to him, international tenders typically require 42 days to complete, but this one was shockingly compressed into just 12 days, raising immediate suspicion.
He also noted that even tenders worth as little as one million rupees include a mandatory pre-bid meeting to clarify requirements and ensure equal access to information. However, no such meeting took place for the country’s massive Rs. 60 billion cab purchase. MP Chanaka argued that this alone indicates that the process was not designed for open competition.
He further alleged that the technical specifications were deliberately set to eliminate every company except one. Only vehicles with engine capacities between 2500cc and 3000cc were allowed, and bidders were required to have a minimum of five service stations across Sri Lanka, including Colombo. Of the five Sri Lankan companies and five international companies that submitted bids, every single bidder except Toyota was disqualified for failing to meet these exact criteria. Some did not have engines in the required capacity range, while others lacked the demanded number of service centers.
MP Chanaka pointed out that only Toyota Sri Lanka, a brand with service stations built over the past decade, fit all the requirements perfectly. He questioned why the government formulated specifications that conveniently aligned with a single manufacturer when the objective of a tender is to encourage competitive pricing and broader participation. He argued that if the government had already decided to purchase Toyota vehicles, it would have been more honest and efficient to award the contract directly instead of conducting a tender process that appeared meaningless.
He also questioned why the acquisition of these cabs was suddenly so urgent, suggesting that the justification for the compressed timeline remains unclear. His remarks highlighted broader concerns about procurement integrity, cost efficiency, and public trust at a time when Sri Lanka is struggling with financial challenges.
