Nagapattinam-Sri Lanka ferry service adds Saturday
The Morning: It was revealed that the passenger ferry service between Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu and Kankesanthurai in Sri Lanka was increased by one more day in a week.
The service, which was reduced to three days a week due to lower-than-expected bookings, will now be operated on Saturdays, from 21 September onwards.
The ferry service, which resumed on 16 August with the new vessel ‘Sivagangai’, initially operated daily.
However, passenger demand prompted the company to reduce the frequency to thrice weekly, running on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, with this schedule maintained until 15 September.
The addition of the extra weekly sailing is part of IndSri’s efforts to better serve the growing demand for cross-border travel between India and Sri Lanka.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka and India enjoy strong bilateral and trade ties that have been strengthened by an operational free trade agreement (FTA) that is to be further strengthened by the proposed ETCA. The close proximity between Sri Lanka and India and the former’s positioning in the Indian Ocean have boosted trade, business, tourism and investment between the two countries. In order to further expand on these areas, the two countries are focused on strengthening connectivity between Sri Lanka and India. The inclusion of an additional day to the ferry service between the two countries is indicative of the increasing demand for ferry travel from passengers from Sri Lanka to India and vice versa. Sri Lankan and Indian authorities are also engaged in a discussion to develop land connectivity between the two countries as well. All these are indicative of the strong business. Trade, tourism and investment ties between Sri Lanka and India have seen Indian businesses operating in Sri Lanka recording growth and profits while Indian tourists continue to be among the top tourist arrivals to the country. All these have resulted in an expansion in business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka, which is also witnessing an economic expansion that could be explored by foreign businesses/investors including Indian businesses/investors. Given the strong ties between Sri Lanka and India, foreign businesses/investors could also set up bases in Sri Lanka to engage with India using the preferential treatment enjoyed by Sri Lanka with India.