The construction of a 1,000 square metre passenger terminal for immigration and customs clearance of people who intend to use the ferry service was undertaken by the Navy
The Sri Lanka Navy said on Wednesday that it has joined the Kankesanthurai harbour facility expansion to aid the passenger ferry service project between the island nation and India, set to start later this month. The Sri Lanka Navy is building a passenger terminal at Kankesanthurai. The passenger ferry service project is scheduled to start by the end of April, Civil Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said last month.
The project will connect the port of Kankesanthurai and Puducherry and provide an economical and convenient mode of transportation between the two countries, the Sri Lanka Navy press release said. "Following the directives of the Commander of the Navy Vice Admiral Priyantha Perera, the Sri Lanka Navy has taken an active role in supporting the expansion of the Kankesanthurai harbour facility by enabling its manpower and expertise, in response to a request of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Aviation," the Navy said.
The project got underway on February 1 "with skilled manpower and industrial expertise enabled by the Navy," the press release said. The Navy commenced facility expansion of the harbour to accommodate more traffic and provide better infrastructure, it said. The construction of a 1,000 square metre passenger terminal for immigration and customs clearance of people who intend to use the ferry service was undertaken by the Navy, the press release said.
The Navy said that a group of 60 naval personnel were engaged in the passenger terminal's construction under the supervision of a naval civil engineering officer. It added that upon the facility's completion, it would be handed over to the Sri Lanka Ports Authority for operational purposes. “On April 29, the ferry service between Karaikal and Kankesanthurai in port in Jaffna district would begin. Each passenger would be allowed a 100 kg baggage allowance at a very concessionary rate,” Minister de Silva said last month. The vessels under the new service will carry 300 to 400 passengers on a trip which will take about three and half hours between destinations, according to ferry owners.