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Karaikal port is set to handle passenger vessels soon.
Ms M. Sathiyavathy, Chief Secretary of Puducherry, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, has cleared the proposal and the papers are now pending with the Puducherry government, in the final stages of clearance.
Once cleared, the Immigration department will set up an office at the port to facilitate the immigration.
Besides vessels from Chennai, the port may also receive cruise ships from Singapore and Malaysia, where there is a large Indian diaspora.
According to Ms Sathiyavathy, this will support the Puducherry government's efforts to promote tourism in the Union Territory.
Pilgrimage centres
As there are a lot of pilgrimage centres, such as Thirunallaru, Nagore and Velankanni in and around Karaikal, the government intends to make it a tourism hub. Setting up of immigration office in the port will also enable the crew of cargo ships to step out of the port, says Mr M.L.N. Acharyulu, Executive Director, Marine Infrastructure, Marg Group.
The port recently started handling liquid cargo.
From February, it started handling crude carriers for Chennai Petroleum.
Last month, it handled 4,000-tonne palm oil cargo. The port has built four storage tanks with a total capacity of 18,000 tonnes , at an investment of Rs 25 crore.
Mr Acharyulu says during the current financial year, the port hopes to handle 1.5 lakh tonnes of edible oil.
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