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# Sri Lanka and India Move Closer to Agreement on Kankesanthurai Port
- URL: https://www.jaffnamonitor.com/featured/sri-lanka-and-india-move-closer-to-agreement-on-kankesanthurai-port/
- Published: 2026-09-03T14:03:56.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-03T14:07:36.000Z
- Author: Our Reporter
- Tags: September 2026

**COLOMBO, Sri Lanka —** Sri Lanka and India moved closer on Thursday to finalizing an agreement to redevelop the Kankesanthurai port in the island’s north, with officials from the two countries saying they had made progress on outstanding issues that have delayed the Indian-funded project.

The talks were held at the Ministry of Energy, Ports and Civil Aviation in Colombo and led by the minister, Anura Karunathilaka. India was represented by a delegation that included Maitrey Kulkarni, the deputy high commissioner.

Sri Lanka’s deputy minister of ports and civil aviation, Janitha Ruwan Kodithuwakku; the ministry secretary, W.W.S. Mangala; the chairman of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority; and officials from the Foreign Affairs Ministry also attended.

The government said the two sides had discussed outstanding issues in the proposed agreements and reached understandings on several matters. The Indian delegation agreed to report the outcome of the talks to New Delhi and seek an early decision, the government said.

The two countries expect to sign the agreements in the near future.

The negotiations are the latest attempt to advance the redevelopment of Kankesanthurai, commonly known as KKS, a strategically located harbor at the northern edge of the Jaffna Peninsula, a short sea crossing from Tamil Nadu.

India has committed $61.5 million in grant assistance to rehabilitate and modernize the harbor. The project received another push last month during a visit to Colombo by India’s foreign secretary, Vikram Misri, when the two governments called for an agreement on the project to be concluded as early as possible.

Much of the technical groundwork has already been completed.

Mr. Kodithuwakku said last month that feasibility studies and designs had been finished and that construction was awaiting completion of the agreement with India.

“We have to sign the MOU, receive the grant, and start the work,” he told The Sunday Morning.

Mr. Kodithuwakku said the remaining negotiations included how the grant would be used, the ownership of the project and the structure of the partnership.

The prolonged negotiations have delayed a project that both governments see as part of a broader effort to improve links between northern Sri Lanka and southern India.

Kankesanthurai already serves as the Sri Lankan terminal for a passenger ferry to Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu. The service was inaugurated in October 2023, restoring a direct passenger sea link between the two countries after decades without one. The crossing is about 110 kilometers.

The proposed redevelopment would significantly expand the port’s capabilities.

According to the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, the plans include rehabilitating existing breakwaters, piers and roads, carrying out dredging and wreck removal, and constructing a new pier and warehouse. The authority says dredging of the turning basin to a depth of eight meters has already been completed.

The government said on Thursday that the redevelopment was intended to increase both passenger and cargo traffic between India and Sri Lanka. A joint monitoring committee and a technical committee have also been proposed to oversee the project.

Indian involvement in the rehabilitation of Kankesanthurai dates to the years immediately after Sri Lanka’s civil war.

India and Sri Lanka began working on the rehabilitation of the harbor more than a decade ago, with Indian assistance used for work including wreck removal and dredging. The current plan is intended to transform the harbor more substantially and increase its ability to handle commercial traffic.

The port is one element of an expanding network of connections between northern Sri Lanka and southern India.

The Northern Province emerged from nearly three decades of civil war with damaged infrastructure and an economy poorly connected to regional markets. Its proximity to southern India has long made direct maritime trade an attractive prospect, particularly for businesses that now depend heavily on ports and logistics networks in other parts of Sri Lanka.

A modern commercial port at Kankesanthurai could shorten that route and give businesses in the north more direct access to Indian markets.

The Sri Lankan government said the project was expected to strengthen maritime connections with India, improve infrastructure in the Northern Province and increase economic activity in the region.