Seeking growth in circularity, not consumption

Sri Lanka’s new economic vision is beginning to take shape, one that measures growth not merely by numbers but by how responsibly those numbers are achieved.

- Chathuranga Abeysinghe

Chathuranga Abeysinghe Gamini Gunasekara K.S. Venkatagiri Samantha Kumarasena PIX BY PRADEEP PATHIRANA

(PIX BY PRADEEP PATHIRANA)

At the third International Conference on Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy, held in Colombo last week, Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Deputy Minister Chathuranga Abeysinghe outlined a defining shift in Sri Lanka’s industrial philosophy.

Speaking to an audience of business leaders and sustainability advocates, Abeysinghe said Sri Lanka is laying the groundwork for a manufacturing-led economy built on efficiency, sustainability and circularity.

“For the first time since 1977, Sri Lanka has a government that believes in a manufacturing base,” he said, addressing the forum organised by the National Cleaner Production Centre Sri Lanka (NCPCSL).

“Our goal is to drive close to 30 percent of our GDP from manufacturing. But to get there, there is no other way than resource efficiency.”