JOIN US He said ferry services between Tuticorin and Colombo would resume from March this year.
The rechristening function was attended besides the minister by the top officials of his ministry including K Mohandas, Secretary and A Subbiah, Chairman of the Port Trust among others. The new name for the Turicorin port was approved by the Union Cabinet in New Delhi recently.
The minister said that the much-awaited passenger ferry service between Tuticorin and Colombo, stopped decades ago, would be launched from March 2011. The distance of 48 nautical miles could be covered in 12 hours, he said adding that the ferry would facilitate three categories of traffic including ethnic, tourists and traders.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) had been signed between India and Sri Lanka to enable the old maritime concourse, Vasan said the Shipping Corporation of India had already slected the vessel operator from India’s side through a “transparent” bidding process. The consortium of ‘Flemingo Duty Free Shops and Tradex Shipping Company’, which bid the highest amount for operating the passenger ferry, would pay Rs7.20 crores per annum to the Port Trust of India for a period of seven years which could be extended to another three years, he said.