Sri Lanka to further digital economy strategy despite cyclone

Sri Lanka is relentless in pursuing its digital economy strategy while being resilient in rebuilding the lives and livelihoods of those impacted by the Cyclone Ditwah.

A new initiative has been launched through GovPay to assist individuals impacted by the devastating cyclone, aiming to streamline the process of donating to the Disaster Relief Fund, managed by the Ministry of Finance, ensuring that contributions are both convenient and transparent.

The Ministry of Digital Economy has announced that anyone can now make instant donations at any time via the state payment portal, GovPay, which allows for real-time crediting of donations, enabling the public to contribute easily from any location.

Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund can be made through various commercial banks and authorized FinTech applications that are linked to GovPay.

The Ministry of Digital Economy has also launched a new official website, “Stand With Sri Lanka,” allowing the global community, including Sri Lankans abroad, to provide urgent financial aid directly to designated bank accounts managed by the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development.

The Ministry has committed that 100% of the donations will be allocated to critical government emergency relief operations such as providing essential food items to displaced families, ensuring access to clean water and sanitation to prevent disease, offering emergency medical assistance to the injured and vulnerable, and distributing temporary shelter and relief kits to those who have lost their homes.

Eranga Weeraratne, Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, told Biometric Update that Sri Lanka’s digital initiatives will continue and accelerate despite challenges such as those posed by Cyclone Ditwah. He said that with support from services like Starlink, the ministry, with related agencies, worked tirelessly to use alternative paths and new connections to restore fiber networks, demonstrating the resilience and importance of digital infrastructure during crises.

“Starlink provided 25 connections free of charge to restore the fiber network, which had broken down. About 4,500 communication towers out of a total 16,000 were broken down during the disaster,” Weeraratne added.

At a meeting organized by the Presidential Secretariat and the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka recently, government officials and major telecommunication companies discussed urgent measures to reinstate interrupted telephone and internet networks due to adverse weather conditions.

The key focus was on power outages and distressed transmission towers, which have hindered communication for those in disaster-hit areas. Direct coordination was agreed between service providers and the Ceylon Electricity Board, the national electricity supplier, for supplying generators to affected towers. Telecommunication operators have prioritized emergency calls and work to reduce network congestion.

According to the latest assessments in the island nation, Cyclone Ditwah affected 1.7 million people, 5,165 houses were destroyed, and 57,312 were partially damaged.

With the Rs. 50 billion (US $ 161.6 million) supplementary estimate and an existing Rs. 22.2 billion (US $ 71.7 million) allocation, the Government has Rs. 72.2 billion (US $ 233.4 million) earmarked for deployment.

Sri Lanka is set to host an international donor conference in January 2026, aimed at raising funds for the reconstruction efforts following the recent devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah, as announced by Deputy Finance Minister Anil Jayantha Fernando.

Article Topics

digital economy  |  digital government  |  digital payments  |  government services  |  GovPay  |  humanitarian  |  social protection  |  Sri Lanka