Аудит выявил системные нарушения экологического законодательства и хищения бюджетных средств в экспортных зонах Шри-Ланки

By Nishel Fernando The Board of Investment (BOI) is facing regulatory pressure following an Auditor General’s report that has laid bare environmental compliance failures and capital expenditure lapses across Sri Lanka’s export processing zones. The audit, contained in the BOI’s 2024 Annual Report released last month, found that major industrial hubs have operated for over three decades without the mandatory concurrence of the Central Environmental Authority (CEA). A regulatory gap has persisted since the early 1990s, with the apex investment agency bypassing the national environmental regulator to issue its own compliance certificates. According to official audit responses contained in the report, “Since 1992, the practice for issuing Environmental Protection Licenses (EPLs) to industries located within the designated zones has been, that the Board of Investment (BOI) issues EPLs directly, without obtaining concurrence from the Central Environmental Authority (CEA).” This gap is corroborated by the CEA’s 2023 Annual Report, which shows that of the BOI’s 12 export processing zones operating island-wide, only seven held EPLs the CEA recognises as valid — meaning the remaining five, including flagship hubs, have been operating on licenses issued solely on the BOI’s own authority, without CEA sign-off. By contrast, the CEA reported an 81.9 per cent concurrence issuance rate for the 932 individual BOI enterprises located outside the designated zones, indicating the gap is concentrated specifically at the zonal level. The CEA has since pushed back against the three-decade practice, seeking formal oversight over the Katunayake, Biyagama, and Koggala Export Processing Zones. The BOI confirmed that “the CEA has now informed that their concurrence is required for the issuance of EPLs to industries in these three zones as well,” prompting talks between the two agencies. The BOI noted that “this matter was discussed with the Director General of the CEA on 22.01.2025, during which it was agreed to formalize the arrangement through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the BOI and CEA.” A draft agreement was submitted to the CEA in April 2025 and remains pending a response. Beyond the licensing dispute, the audit and regulatory records point to compliance issues at individual zones. In the Kandy Industrial Park, authorities flagged a factory over the quality of its treated wastewater, compounded by an expired environmental license; the BOI said the park’s zonal EPL “will also be considered accordingly” once the factory secures a renewal. The Seethawaka Export Processing Zone is dealing with infrastructure delays, with the CEA raising concerns in a June 2025 letter over the zone’s centralised wastewater treatment plant and a “delay in the construction of the sludge pit.” The Horana Export Processing Zone faces similar delays after a May 2025 CEA inspection requested additional details on the progress of its centralised wastewater treatment plant before license renewal could be considered. The Wagawaththa Industrial Zone continues to operate without a centralised wastewater treatment plant altogether; while individual factories manage their own waste, the BOI said it “submitted a request for an EPL for the zone by letter dated 02.08.2024,” but “no response has been received from the CEA to date.” In the Mirijjawila Export Processing Zone, a dormant company was repeatedly instructed to obtain a Scheduled Waste Management License, which it secured only in March 2025. These compliance gaps carry particular weight given that Biyagama and Seethawaka sit within the Kelani River basin, the source of approximately 80 per cent of Colombo’s drinking water supply. CEA records show that high-risk industrial discharges into the river require evaluation by an inter-agency High and Medium Polluting Industry Committee, which assessed 31 industrial proposals in 2023. Separate CEA inspections along a 500-metre buffer zone of the river identified 86 high-risk chemical, polymer, and waste-handling facilities requiring ongoing monitoring. The audit also flagged millions of rupees in public funds facing write-off after being sunk into “Capital Work in Progress” for projects across locations where the BOI held no land and no acquisition process was underway. In its responses, the BOI repeatedly acknowledged the lapse, stating in each case that “there is no BOI own land or zone in this place; as well no acquiring process in progress.” The write-offs include Rs. 30.83 million in Trincomalee, Rs. 14.93 million earmarked for a proposed Agro Farm, Rs. 11.27 million in Puttalam, and Rs. 3.63 million in Godagama, along with a further Rs. 500,000 for a proposed zone in Millaniya where “land acquisition (was) suspended” and the land was never transferred to the BOI — a combined Rs. 61.16 million.