Sri Lanka appoints district-level MPs to boost industry and services

A meeting chaired by Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Minister Sunil Handunneththi and Deputy Minister Chathuranga Abeysinghe was held on June 17, 2025 at the Sri Lankan Parliament to improve coordination between the Ministry of Industries and district-level operations.

The meeting brought together Members of Parliament representing all 25 districts, along with the Ministers’ private staff.

The key focus was to set up an effective mechanism to address industrial issues at the district level through designated MPs.

Strengthening District and Divisional Committees

The Ministry has initiated District Industrial Committees, comprising the District Secretary, Governor, and District Coordinating Committee Chairperson.

Additionally, Divisional Industrial Committees operate under Divisional Coordinating Committee Chairpersons.

Committee members also include representatives from:

• Industrial Development Officers
• Provincial Industrial Authorities
• Industrial Development Board (IDB)
• National Enterprise Development Authority (NEDA)
• Small Enterprise Development (SED)
• Export Development Board (EDB)
• National Craft Council and similar bodies

Infrastructure-related institutions like Chambers of Commerce, Banks, Urban Development Authority (UDA), Ministry of Lands, and Energy Committees may also be invited based on relevance.

The goal of these committees is to resolve regional industrial issues such as land use, transportation, bank credit, and energy locally.

Issues that cannot be solved at the divisional or district level will be escalated to the Ministry.

Ministry’s Role and Sector Advisory Committees

The Ministry clarified its role as a facilitator of industrial growth, responsible for addressing policy-level issues such as taxes, trade regulations, and cross-institutional coordination.

To support this, 24 Advisory Committees have been established across key sectors such as garments, food, boat building, spices, vehicle manufacturing, and consumer goods.

These committees consist of representatives from leading industry institutions and chambers, who submit policy recommendations to the Ministry, the Cabinet, or other relevant ministries.

Role of Parliamentarians

Parliamentarians were advised to focus on policy-level development rather than village-level matters such as individual loans or disputes.

Their main responsibilities at the district level include:

• Initiating major industrial projects, such as factories or industrial zones
• Identifying underused government lands and buildings for industrial use
• Reactivating non-functional industrial estates and facilitating their handover to new entrepreneurs
• Preparing district industrial reports on available land and opportunities

MPs Appointed for District-Level Coordination

The following Members of Parliament were appointed to coordinate industrial development efforts with the Ministry in their respective districts:

1. Vasantha Piyathissa – Ampara District
2. Upali Samarasinghe – Vavuniya District
3. Oshani Umanga – Kalutara District
4. Nandana Padma Kumara – Kalutara District
5. Ajantha Gammaddage – Matara District
6. T.K. Jayasundara – Galle District
7. Rajeevan Jeyachandramurthy – Jaffna District
8. Dr. Sellathambi Thilakanathan – Mullaitivu District
9. Aruna Panagoda – Colombo District
10. Kandasamy Prabhu – Batticaloa District
11. Padmasiri Bandara – Polonnaruwa District
12. Ravindra Bandara – Badulla District
13. Vijesiri Basnayake – Kurunegala District
14. Sunil Rajapaksha – Ratnapura District
15. Deepthi Wasalage – Matale District
16. Ruwan Wijeweera – Monaragala District
17. Athula Welangoda – Hambantota District
18. Champika Hettiarachchi – Gampaha District
19. Mohamed Faizal – Puttalam District
20. Thilina Samarakoon – Anuradhapura District
21. Roshan Akmeemana – Trincomalee District
22. Thanura Dissanayake – Kandy District
23. Manjula Suraveera – Nuwara Eliya District
24. R.M. Samantha Ranasinghe – Kegalle District
25. M. Jegadeeswaran – Mannar District
26. Elankumaran – Kilinochchi District

This coordinated effort is expected to enhance industrial development across Sri Lanka by solving issues efficiently and boosting entrepreneurship at the district level.