Sri Lanka has called a fresh tender for 1,000 diesel double cabs after revising technical and financial conditions from the 2025 procurement.
COLOMBO — The Government has called fresh bids to purchase 1,000 brand-new automatic-transmission, four-wheel-drive diesel double cabs for the public sector, with revised technical and eligibility requirements that could allow more suppliers to compete than under last year’s controversial procurement.
The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development published the tender on September 29, with bids scheduled to close on October 22, 2026.
Official procurement documents identify the tender as the “Procurement of 1000 Nos. Brand New Auto Transmission Four-wheel Drive Diesel Double Cabs”.
The Ministry has also initiated separate procurements for other utility vehicles and machinery, including:
- 175 tractors
- 100 backhoe loaders
- 100 gully bowsers
- 160 tippers
Among the current procurements, the 1,000-double-cab purchase is the largest by vehicle quantity and is likely to attract the greatest scrutiny because of the controversy surrounding a previous tender for 1,775 double cabs.
New Tender Follows Disputed 2025 Procurement
In October 2025, the Finance Ministry called bids for 1,775 brand-new four-wheel-drive automatic diesel double cabs.
That tender drew criticism over both the specifications and the unusually short bidding period.
Interested suppliers were initially given only 12 calendar days, equivalent to seven working days, to prepare their submissions.
Industry representatives also questioned whether several of the technical and eligibility criteria effectively narrowed the field to a single supplier.
The earlier procurement did not proceed to implementation.
The Government has now returned to the market with a smaller quantity and substantially revised requirements.
Engine Capacity Reduced to 2,400cc
One of the clearest changes concerns engine capacity.
Under the 2025 tender, vehicles were required to have an engine capacity of at least 2,500cc.
The new tender lowers that threshold to 2,400cc.
Minimum engine power has also been reduced by approximately seven per cent compared with the previous specifications.
Torque, which relates to a vehicle’s ability to pull heavy loads and perform under demanding conditions, has been reduced by around 12.5 per cent.
These changes potentially widen the range of double-cab models capable of qualifying for the procurement.
Ground Clearance Requirement Lowered
Ground clearance has also been significantly revised.
The earlier tender specified more than 300 millimetres of ground clearance, a requirement that industry participants had questioned as unusually high for the category.
Under the new procurement, the minimum has been reduced to more than 220 millimetres.
That change could allow additional internationally available four-wheel-drive pickups to compete.
Greater competition does not automatically guarantee a lower final price, but a broader field of technically compliant bidders can strengthen the competitive procurement process.
Service Centre Rules Relaxed
Supplier eligibility requirements have also been amended.
Last year, bidders were required to own 10 service and repair centres, with at least five located outside the Western Province.
The 2026 tender still requires access to 10 service centres but permits a mixed structure.
At least five must be owned by the bidder, while the remaining five may operate through authorised franchises or dealerships.
That requirement could allow suppliers with established dealership networks, rather than entirely company-owned service infrastructure, to participate.
Previous Sales Requirement Halved
The Government has also reduced the level of previous sales experience required from bidders.
Under the previous conditions, a supplier had to demonstrate sales of at least 1,000 units of the proposed make.
The new threshold is 500 units.
Average annual turnover has similarly been reduced from Rs. 10 billion to Rs. 8 billion.
These changes lower some of the commercial barriers to entry and could increase the number of eligible bidders.
Bid Security Increased Fivefold
Not every requirement has been relaxed.
The bid security has risen sharply from Rs. 50 million under the previous tender to Rs. 250 million under the new procurement.
Bidders must also demonstrate at least Rs. 5 billion in financial resources, either through liquid assets or available credit facilities.
The higher financial threshold appears intended to ensure that participating companies have sufficient capacity to fulfil a contract of this scale if selected.
It also means that while technical and operational requirements have been broadened, the tender continues to demand substantial financial strength from prospective suppliers.
Wider Utility Vehicle Procurement
The double-cab purchase forms part of a broader Government effort to strengthen the public sector’s vehicle and machinery fleet.
Cabinet approved the procurement of several categories of utility vehicles in June after concluding that shortages and ageing equipment were affecting the implementation of Government development projects.
The approved categories included 175 tractors, 100 gully bowsers, 100 backhoe loaders and 160 tippers.
Cabinet said shortages of suitable vehicles and machinery had become a serious obstacle to efficient implementation of field operations and development activities.
The Ministry of Finance is now conducting the respective procurement exercises.
Why the Previous Tender Drew Criticism
The earlier 1,775-vehicle tender became politically and commercially sensitive because several criteria appeared unusually restrictive when assessed together.
Questions were raised over the required engine capacity, power, torque, ground clearance, service network, historical sales volumes and turnover.
Reporting at the time indicated that some industry participants believed Toyota Lanka was the only company capable of meeting all the requirements simultaneously.
That allegation did not establish that the tender was deliberately written to favour Toyota or any other bidder.
It did, however, raise a legitimate procurement concern: whether specifications designed for Government operational needs were unnecessarily excluding otherwise suitable vehicles.
The revised 2026 tender appears to address several of those points.
Greater Competition Will Be the Key Test
The significant question now is whether the changes produce genuine competition.
Lowering engine capacity, power and torque thresholds, reducing ground clearance, widening service-network arrangements and halving the prior-sales requirement should increase the number of technically eligible vehicles and suppliers.
The outcome will become clearer once bids close on October 22.
If several suppliers qualify and submit competitive offers, the revised tender could demonstrate that the Government has responded to the criticisms that surrounded the previous procurement.
If the field again narrows to one or very few bidders, further scrutiny of the specifications would be inevitable.
Price Still Matters
Technical eligibility is only one part of the procurement.
With 1,000 vehicles involved, even relatively small differences in unit price could translate into substantial differences in total Government expenditure.
The previous proposal involving 1,775 vehicles was estimated in public reporting to potentially exceed Rs. 40 billion, depending on the price obtained for each vehicle.
No final purchase price has yet been established for the new tender because competitive bids have not closed.
The eventual assessment will therefore need to consider not only the initial purchase price but also warranties, maintenance, fuel consumption, spare-parts availability, reliability and long-term operating costs.
For a fleet intended for public service, the cheapest initial bid is not necessarily the lowest-cost vehicle over its operational life.
Procurement Transparency Will Determine Confidence
Government vehicle purchases frequently attract public attention because they involve substantial taxpayer expenditure.
That makes transparency particularly important.
Clear technical justification, adequate bidding periods, genuine competition, transparent evaluation and disclosure of the eventual contract award can help distinguish operationally necessary procurement from politically contentious vehicle spending.
The latest tender has already corrected several requirements that drew criticism last year.
Whether those changes ultimately deliver better value will depend on the bids received, the evaluation process and the price and conditions under which the contract is awarded.
For now, the most significant change is clear: the Government has reopened the procurement with a broader set of technical and supplier criteria, placing the emphasis on whether genuine competition will follow.
