COLOMBO — Japan and the United Nations Development Programme signed an agreement with the Sri Lankan government on Wednesday to fund disaster waste clearance and the rehabilitation of community facilities in areas devastated by Cyclone Ditwah, which struck the island in late November and affected an estimated 1.7 million people.
The project will focus on the Central Province — the districts of Kandy, Matale, and Nuwara Eliya — where the cyclone caused some of the worst damage to infrastructure, leaving services disrupted and debris piled up in communities for more than six months.
Under the initiative, formally titled the Project for Disaster Waste Clearance and Rehabilitation of Community Facilities through Participatory Approach, electric three-wheelers will be deployed to collect recyclable and light disaster waste, while multipurpose community centers that provide healthcare, education, childcare, and social services will be restored.
Officials said the project would directly benefit roughly 228,500 people, with a further 700,000 expected to gain indirectly through improved services and waste management. It is also designed to create livelihood opportunities through community-based waste collection and rebuilding work, with an emphasis on employing women and vulnerable groups.
The agreement was signed in Colombo by Akio Isomata, Japan's ambassador to Sri Lanka, and Azusa Kubota, the UNDP's resident representative, in the presence of S. Aloka Bandara, secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government.
Mr. Isomata said the project was guided by the principle of "Build Back Better" and would strengthen resilience by putting communities at the center of implementation. "By encouraging local communities to participate," he said, Japan hoped to "strengthen social cohesion and enhance resilience to disaster."
Mr. Aloka Bandara called the agreement "an important milestone in our national recovery efforts," saying it would help affected communities "regain access to essential services and rebuild their lives with dignity."
Ms. Kubota said recovery "is not merely about rebuilding what was lost," describing the partnership as a commitment to "inclusive, sustainable recovery that leaves no one behind."
The signing marks a shift from emergency humanitarian relief toward longer-term recovery in the cyclone's aftermath, and officials said the project aligns with Sri Lanka's broader efforts to strengthen climate resilience and modernize its waste management systems.
