"In the future we will not allow polluting industries as Trincomalee is a very sensitive area. It is one location where you can see elephants and whales - where the two giants on land and in the sea can be seen in one location."
"We're developing Trincomalee and plan to issue a request for proposals to develop land," Wickrama said, delivering the annual P B Karandwala Memorial Lecture. "We plan to issue the RFP by March."
The lecture was organized by the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport Sri Lanka to honour a key figure in ports and shipping in the island.
Wickrama said 9,000 acres of land are available in Trincomalee and that previous RFPs had not drawn the desired response because of the ethnic war.
The 30-year war ended in May 2009 resulting in an economic boom which growth projected at 8.5 percent this year after eight percent growth in 2011.
"Now the situation has changed and there is a lot of potential for investme