Hayleys Free Zone Limited (HFZ) today denied that the company has any involvement with a shipment said to be containing garbage that is lying at the Port of Colombo.

Video footage of the piles of waste material shipped from the UK, recorded during the observation visit made by the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), was released to the media yesterday (19).

The CEA has ordered to return the consignment of waste material imported to Sri Lanka back to the United Kingdom.

Certain groups, media reports and social media posts had claimed that the shipment was imported into the country by Hayleys Free Zone Limited.

However, issuing a press release today, HFZ denied all allegations levelled against the company in this regard while clarifying that it is not an importer or exporter of goods. 

“Statements to the effect that HFZ imported these goods are therefore baseless and false,” it said.

Full Press Release Issued by Hayleys Free Zone Limited:

In light of recent adverse media publicity in relation to a shipment said to be containing garbage, Hayleys Free Zone Limited (HFZ) wishes to categorically state that the company has no connection to the cargo that is lying at the Port of Colombo.

HFZ is a legal entity established to provide logistics services to importers and exporters mainly with the aim of providing value added services for re-exports, as done in other free zones across the Globe.

HFZ is not involved in any way or manner with the said containers presently lying at the Port of Colombo. It is not the importer nor consignee nor logistics services provider in respect of the said containers.

There has also been adverse media publicity with regard to an earlier shipment, which was also not imported by HFZ. The said shipments were sent to HFZ by the importer for the purposes of processing and re-export. Some such cargo has already been processed and re-exported. 

All others, once processed, would also be re-exported. The containers received by HFZ did not contain any garbage or other waste material as alleged in several media reports.

HFZ wishes to make it clear that it is not an importer or exporter of goods. Statements to the effect that HFZ imported these goods are therefore baseless and false.

HFZ denies all allegations levelled against the company in this regard and requests the general public not to be misled by these baseless allegations.