President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, in his capacity as Digital Economy Minister, has called for urgent acceleration of Sri Lanka’s national digital infrastructure projects, including the Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity (SLUDI) initiative, the clearing of delays in issuing National Identity Cards (NICs), and the construction of 500 telecom towers under the Communication to the Village programme. His directives were issued during a progress review meeting assessing 2025 digital economy initiatives led by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL), the Department for Registration of Persons (DRP), and GovTech Ltd., with discussions focused on resolving implementation bottlenecks and strengthening governance frameworks.
The President emphasised that a solid digital foundation is essential for Government investments outlined in the 2026 Budget. He also stressed the need to attract private sector participation to expand digital infrastructure across the country, particularly through nationwide telecom tower deployment. Reiterating his three-year target of 500 new towers, he noted that improved connectivity is crucial to enabling digital public services and economic inclusion.
Dissanayake further instructed the DRP to remove NIC issuance backlogs and ordered officials to expedite SLUDI as the core platform for future digital services. The meeting also covered plans to establish a Digital Economy Authority, reinforce administrative structures within the Ministry, and enhance human resource capacity to support Sri Lanka’s broader digital transformation.
