JICA Hands Over Advanced Drones to Strengthen Sri Lanka’s Landslide Disaster Response Capacity amid Ongoing Disaster Recovery Efforts

On 26^th February 2026, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) officially handed over advanced drones to the Road Development Authority (RDA) under the Project for Strengthening the Capacity of Landslide Disaster Prevention for Resilient Road Transportation in Sri Lanka (2025–2028).

This technical cooperation project aims to enhance Sri Lanka’s capabilities in landslide risk screening, hazard evaluation, disaster‑related data management, and emergency response for national road networks, particularly in landslide‑prone areas.

In November 2025, Sri Lanka experienced severe impacts from Cyclone Ditwa, which triggered multiple landslides and caused widespread damages to road networks across several provinces. In response to an urgent request from RDA, JICA promptly supported under the said technical cooperation project for checking post-disaster road conditions and making advice on-site for emergency response in early December 2025.

Upon the hand-over ceremony, Minoru MATSUNOSHITA, Senior Representative of JICA Sri Lanka Office, stated “As a continuation of activity after the rapid support in December, the project team of RDA engineers and Japanese experts is going to start a broader field survey for the areas affected by the cyclone from March 2026. The newly provided drones will now be used to investigate the hazardous slopes from the air. Based on the findings from the field investigation, the JICA Experts will examine potential emergency measures at each site and provide technical advice to the RDA, as well as identify road sections and areas that are particularly at high-risk.”

The drones will enable RDA engineers and Japanese Experts to conduct wide field investigations, assess landslide‑affected slopes, identify high‑risk locations, and examine potential emergency mitigation measures. Equipped with high‑precision imaging and mapping capabilities, these drones will significantly improve real‑time assessment of disaster‑affected areas, rapid hazard detection, accurate topographic surveys, 3D model creation, and monitoring of vulnerable road sections.

Their findings will further guide the selection of pilot sites and the planning of evidence‑based disaster‑response actions under the project. The collected high‑resolution data will also be integrated into the Sri Lanka Road Asset Management System, supporting faster and more reliable decision‑making during emergencies. This timely provision of technology and technical support strengthens national efforts to build resilient transportation infrastructure and enhances the capacity of RDA to respond effectively to future climate‑induced disasters.

JICA remains committed to supporting Sri Lanka in post-disaster recovery and reconstruction, disaster risk reduction, and road safety enhancement.