Sri Lanka will host an international donor conference in January 2026 to secure funding for reconstruction and rebuilding efforts following the recent devastation caused by Ditwah, Deputy Finance Minister Anil Jayantha Fernando announced.
The government plans to allocate an additional 500 billion rupees for cyclone relief and recovery initiatives in 2026. Of this amount, 250 billion rupees will be designated for infrastructure projects, 100 billion rupees for rebuilding destroyed homes, and 200 billion rupees to support business recovery in agriculture and other sectors.
Funding for these initiatives is expected to come from a combination of sources, including cash reserves in the Treasury Operations Department, increased domestic taxes, and foreign contributions.
“At the most recent Rebuilding Sri Lanka Fund meeting, we decided to organize a donor conference in January,” Minister Fernando said during a media briefing on Wednesday. He added that the conference will take place in Sri Lanka, with further details to be announced in due course.
The United Nations Development Program has issued a global appeal, noting that Sri Lanka’s Treasury lacks the capacity to fully finance recovery from the disaster independently.
Currently, Sri Lanka is under an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan program and has requested an additional $200 million through the Rapid Finance Instrument following the disaster.
(Colombo/December 17, 2025)
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