Mr. Chanaka de Silva is considered the foremost legal expert in Sri Lanka in the field of project finance transactions and negotiations. Mr. de Silva has been involved in advising, negotiating and structuring several large infrastructure projects in diverse areas such as electricity, telecommunication, petroleum, roads, ports and mining and in several privatizations.
During his tenure in the Attorney-General’s Department, he specialized in banking and commercial law, handled litigation and ADR matters and advised the Government of Sri Lanka on infrastructure development, project finance, restructuring and corporatization transactions. These included projects in the Electricity, Ports and Mining Sectors.
Mr. de Silva functioned as the Senior Legal Consultant to the Secretariat for Infrastructure Development and Investment and its successor, the Bureau of Infrastructure Investment. The work in this position involved advising the Government and the relevant Governmental Agencies on large scale infrastructure projects, more particularly with regard to preparation of Requests for Proposals, selection of preferred Bidders and the negotiation of Project Agreements on behalf of the Government and the relevant Governmental Agencies. More recently, his expertise was obtained for the Government’s efforts to enhance the structuring and negotiating skills of the national agency for Public – Private Partnerships and other Governmental agencies, in respect of infrastructure projects.
Mr. de Silva has also served in various Committees relating to public enterprise restructuring. He was a member of the group of consultants appointed to formulate proposals to enhance competition among port operators in Sri Lanka and has been a
member of several committees for the drafting of legislation, including legislation relating to banking and debt recovery.
In April 2019, Mr. Chanaka de Silva was appointed a President’s Counsel by His Excellency the President of Sri Lanka, under Article 33 (2) (e) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka.
Mr. Chanaka de Silva has been named a Leading Individual for Project and Energy by Legal 500 – Asia Pacific, continuously from the year 2006 to 2019. In recognition of his consistency of excellence, Mr. de Silva was inducted to The Legal 500 Hall of Fame of as a eading individual within the fields of Projects and Energy, in March 2020.

https://www.nithyapartners.com/who-we-are/chanaka-de-silva