Ferry service between Nagapattinam and Kankesanthurai to resume on May 13th

COLOMBO (News 1st) - The High Commission of India in Sri Lanka said in a statement that the passenger ferry service between Nagapattinam, India and Kankesanthurai, Sri Lanka is set to resume operations on May 13, 2024.

The passenger ferry service between Nagapattinam, India, and Kankesanthurai, Sri Lanka, initially launched in October 2023 by the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), will now be operated by a private company, IndSri Ferry Services.

The Indian High Commission said In order to make the service affordable and attractive for passengers, the Government of India has decided to bear the cost towards applicable taxes and other charges to the tune of over 25 million Sri Lankan Rupees per month for a period of 1 year.

Similarly, the government of Sri Lanka has reduced the deviation tax currently charged to passengers leaving Sri Lanka by passenger vessels and ships.

The statement added that It would be recalled that the Government of India has also extended a grant assistance of USD 63.65 million to the Government of Sri Lanka for rehabilitation of the KKS Harbour, which was earlier envisaged to be undertaken under a Line of Credit.

This is in keeping with India’s strong commitment to Sri Lanka’s economic recovery, and its march towards progress and prosperity, along with and in close collaboration with India.

Strengthening maritime connectivity between India and Sri Lanka was a vital component of the vision document for economic partnership jointly adopted during the visit of the President of Sri Lanka to India in July 2023.

The resumption of the ferry service is an affirmation of the people-centric policies of the Government of India.

In his remarks during the launch of the service in October 2023, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had highlighted that connectivity is not only about bringing two cities closer but bringing countries and its people closer.

He mentioned that the people of Sri Lanka will benefit from the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor launched during the G20 summit in India in September 2023, as multimodal connectivity between our two countries is strengthened.

The statemnet mentioned that In the future, connectivity with Sri Lanka will be further enhanced through electricity grid interconnection, two-way multipurpose pipeline and setting up a land connectivity economic corridor.