In terms of Sri Lanka’s multilateral aid disbursement progress made during 2026, particularly of the Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s proportion of expected disbursements for the year (31.5%), only 5.7% of total expected disbursements had been made by the Sri Lankan Government in H1 2026, Committee on Public Finance Chairperson Harsha de Silva, revealed recently (22) during a meeting.
“According to the annual disbursement plan here, the ADB’s share is to make 31.5% of total disbursements, the IMF 33.8%, and World Bank 18.1%,” he said, speaking of the disbursement expectations for 2026.
“Though the ADB is supposed to disburse around 31.5% in total, only 5.7% has been disbursed in the first half of the year. Between 5.7% and 31.5%, there is a significant gap,” De Silva said.
The relevant representatives from the Department of Project Management and Monitoring were not present during the meeting to assess whether the current capital expenditure for projects had been adequate so far for the year.
According to the Parliament website, ADB’s disbursements in 2023, as per Sri Lanka’s development partners, was approximately 33% of the total expected within the year, followed by the World Bank (WB) 29% and International Monetary Fund (IMF) 27%.
In 2026, the multilateral indicated that it was to increase its commitment and disbursement allocation to Sri Lanka, from an initial $ 380 million to $ 480 million. This included a $ 100 million additional budget support package approved in March this year to help navigate economic headwinds stemming from global supply shocks and the conflict in the Middle East.
The matter of adequate capital expenditure was raised amidst the discussion on the specific legal and procedural issues surrounding two ADB-funded loan schemes intended for on-lending through private sector banks.
Public Debt Management Office Additional Director General Udeni Thilakarathne stated that the ADB’s disbursement plan for the year was $ 150 million, but could not provide the figure for how much has been disbursed so far this year.
According to Manjula Hettiarachchi, who had presented the two resolutions for two projects pending parliamentary approval, he stated that the SME sector development project and the Agriculture value-chain project are to receive $ 100 million and the Agriculture value-chain project is to receive $ 100 million, across three years. For the current year, the SME project is expected to receive $ 25 million, and agriculture is to see $ 25 million, which makes the $ 45 million expected this year.
“We are yet to begin negotiations, which is why we are here seeking approval,” Hettiarachchi said. “We are supposed to disburse $ 45 million this year.”
He also noted that the previous package of Rs 95 billion is over, from which Rs 77 billion has been spent.