Monday Dec 15, 2025
Monday Dec 15, 2025
Monday, 15 December 2025 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Sri Lanka’s struggle to revive large-scale manufacturing industries affected by Cyclone Ditwah came under spotlight recently at a high-level review involving the Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Ministry and top corporates.
The progress and challenges of Sri Lanka thus far were reviewed at the meeting bringing together leading companies under a public-private partnership framework chaired by Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Deputy Minister Chathuranga Abeysinghe.
The review focused on the newly initiated Industry Recovery Foster Program (IRFP) and Industry Development Foster Program (IDFP), aimed at expediting the rehabilitation of large-scale industries affected by the disaster.
So far, 16,476 inquiries have been recorded, including 6,688 micro, 5,625 small, 3,642 medium, and 521 large-scale enterprises already identified as affected businesses under its newly launched data collection mechanism.
The Ministry urged the businesses impacted by the cyclone to submit their details via www.industry.gov.lk or contact 071 266 6660 before 2 p.m. tomorrow (16) to be included in the recovery program.
Deputy Minister Abeysinghe highlighted that priority will be given to institutions demonstrating strong production, engineering, and logistics capabilities.
“We highly appreciate the private sector’s support during this national recovery effort,” he said, underlining the importance of collaborative action between the Government and industry leaders.
The discussions saw participation from major players including Toyota Lanka, Tokyo Cement, MAS Holdings, Brandix Lanka, Aitken Spence, Expo Lanka Holdings, John Keells Holdings, Ceylon Agro Industries, DIMO, Unilever Sri Lanka, Prima Ceylon, Nestlé Lanka, Hemas Holdings, Browns, CBL, and Cargills.
Under the initiative, affected medium- and large-scale enterprises will receive technical and management assistance to restart operations. The recovery framework is expected to be fully operational within 30 days, with a dedicated operational committee set to commence work next week.
The initiative is a targeted and structured approach by the Government to rebuild industrial capacity, safeguard jobs, and restore production continuity following the unprecedented damage caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
