Hayleys says Pedro Estate not suitable for airport

Hayleys Plc yesterday said its subsidiary Kelani Valley Plantations’ (KVP) Pedro Estate in Nuwara Eliya is not suitable for an airport.

“There is no flat land in the Pedro Estate,” Hayleys Chairman Mohan Pandithage said in response to reports that Pedro Estate has been identified for the proposed airport.

He said that Pedro remains a showpiece of KVP as well as the tea industry owing to record auction prices its tea fetches, in addition to its tea served for Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee recently.

“Though I am aware of press reports, neither Hayleys nor KVP have been approached or notified about Pedro Estate being identified for the proposed airport,” Pandithage added.

Pedro features a tea bush planted by the Duke of Edinburgh during a State visit to Sri Lanka in 1954.

Tea from Pedro Estate received awards at the Ceylon Specialty Estate Tea of the Year competition organised by the Sri Lanka Tea Board and the Colombo Tea Traders Association last year in association with the Russian Association of Tea and Coffee Producers held in Russia.