Colombo, (UNI) Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development has released LKR 106.2 million ($350,000) in financial assistance as part of the first phase of relief for industries affected by Cyclone Ditwah, as the government steps up efforts to stabilise the economy after widespread damage.
Under the programme, 531 registered industrialists verified by divisional secretariats will each receive a one-time grant of LKR 200,000 ($660), according to the secretary to the deputy minister of industry.
The funds have been channelled to district secretariats in Gampaha, Colombo, Mannar, Batticaloa, Ampara, Trincomalee, Kegalle, Monaragala, Badulla, Polonnaruwa, Ratnapura and Anuradhapura for immediate distribution.
Officials said the initiative was launched after authorities identified nearly 10,000 industrialists who suffered partial or total losses as a result of the cyclone, which disrupted manufacturing activity, supply chains and local employment across several regions.
The immediate objective of the relief package is to help affected enterprises resume operations and prevent further job losses in small and medium-scale industries.
Cyclone Ditwah struck Sri Lanka earlier this year, triggering floods and infrastructure damage across large parts of the island.
Beyond the humanitarian toll, the storm dealt a significant blow to local industry at a time when the country is still recovering from a prolonged economic crisis marked by shortages, inflation and constrained public finances.
The Ministry said work was also under way on a longer-term strategy aimed at strengthening the resilience of the industrial sector to future natural disasters, including improved risk assessments, infrastructure planning and access to emergency financing mechanisms.
Separately, Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC has donated LKR 110 million ($365,000) to the government’s ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ fund, established to support post-cyclone recovery.
The contribution was formally handed over on Monday, Dec 22 by the bank’s chairman, Sharhan Muhseen, to Secretary to the President Nandika Sanath Kumanayake at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo.
The ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ fund was set up to restore livelihoods and rebuild infrastructure damaged by Cyclone Ditwah, which affected multiple districts.
Government officials said contributions were continuing to flow in from local and international institutions, as well as individual donors, as part of a broader push to mobilise both public and private sector support.
Commercial Bank was represented at the handover ceremony by its managing director S C U Manatunga, chief operating officer S Prabagar and additional general manager Ashani Seneviratne.
Officials said the donation underscored the role of the private sector in complementing state-led recovery efforts, as Colombo seeks to rebuild the damaged infrastructure, repair the damaged economy, and bolster disaster preparedness in the wake of increasingly frequent extreme weather events.
