Hayleys Free Zone Limited (HFZL) sited in the controversy of importing garbage to Sri Lanka said that they were neither the importer nor the exporter of these items.
“We simply processed them and returned them back to the Ceylon Metal Processing Corporation (Pvt) Limited that gave it to us,” said Director Hayleys Group and Managing Director, HFZL, Ruwan Waidyaratne.
He stressed that the 130 container loads of used mattresses currently stored at the HFZL yard were imported from UK and they were used in apartments and houses and not in hospitals. According to international regulations UK is not permitted to send out contaminated material to developing countries.
He said that out of the 130 container loads, 29 were processed and re exported to India UK and Australia by Ceylon Metal Processing Corporation (CMPCPL) and freight forwarder ETL Colombo (Pvt) Ltd.
He further said that the cargo in question was accepted to the Hayleys Free Zone yard, after carefully scrutinizing the documents which stated that the 130 containers were non- hazardous cargo.
He added that another allegation is that another 102 containers lying at the Port of Colombo belongs to HFZL. “This is also completely false and this consignment also belongs to Ceylon Metal Processing Corporation.”
He said that CMPCPL is currently facing financial difficulties and this may be the reason that this cargo is not cleared. “We are also facing an issue with regard to the re reselling of the 101 processed matter containers and we are desperately looking for buyers.”
Director HFZL, Dr. Asanka Ratnayake said that due to the controversial nature of the business the BOI have requested them to facilitate the expeditious processing of the current stock of used mattresses stored at thier yard.
“In light of the current situation, HFZL revealed that it has taken a decision to processes these mattresses and re-export them expeditiously at the cost of the company”.
The Company also stated that it will work closely with the Central Environment Authority to ensure that the mattresses lying at the Hayleys Free Zone yard does not pose any risk to the environment. Director, HFZL Amal Rodrigo explained the Free Zone concept was introduced in 2013 to convert Sri Lanka major processing hub, similar to Singapore, Malaysia and Dubai.
“This is a very lucrative business and HFSL alone provides over 400 direct employment opportunities. There are six other companies in Sri Lanka doing this similar business. He said that Free Zone concept also has new regulations and is a 100% duty free operation.
Hayleys Free Zone was established under the Commercial Hub Regulation Act No.1 of 2013 operates as an offshore location to provide logistics services to global clients, mainly with the aim of offering storage and value added services for re-export, as done in other free zones across the Globe.
0 comments: