Kankesanthurai or KKS is a town with a harbour in the northern Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

n city of Jaffna

Jaffna

Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna district located on a peninsula of the same name. Jaffna is approximately six miles away from Kandarodai which served as a famous emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical...

. It is the location of the Sri Lanka Navy naval base

Naval base

A naval base is a military base, where warships and naval ships are deployed when they have no mission at sea or want to restock. Usually ships may also perform some minor repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that usually stay on the ships but are undergoing maintenance while...

, SLNS Uttara. At present it is in the High Security Zone declared by the security forces of Sri Lanka. India helps in port's restoration. Kankasanthurai port will be the nearest port for all eastern ports in India, as well as for Myanmar and Bangladesh.

History

During the civil war, the port at Kankesanturai had to be closed due to safety concerns. Shipwrecks also impeded ship movements within the port.

Geography and climate

Kankesanturai is on the north coast of the Jaffna Peninsula

Jaffna Peninsula

The Jaffna Peninsula is an area in Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is home to the capital city of the province, Jaffna and comprises much of the former land mass of the ancient Tamil kingdoms of the Nagas and the medieval Jaffna kingdom. The peninsula is mostly surrounded by water, connected to...

, near Point Pedro

Point Pedro

Point Pedro is the northernmost town of the island of Sri Lanka. The agriculturally active area around Point Pedro with fertile calcic red latosols is known for its cotton production. The eastern coast of Point Pedro is a 3-mile-broad beach with huge sand dunes up to 100 feet height, extending...

, the northernmost point in Sri Lanka. Its port is to the north, facing the Bay of Bengal

Bay of Bengal

The Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...

 in the Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

.

The climate of Jaffna peninsula is considered to be tropical monsoonal with a seasonal rhythm of rainfall. The temperature ranges from 26 C to 33 C. Annual precipitation ranges from 696 mm to 1125 mm. The north east monsoon rain (October to January) accounts for more than 90 % of the annual rainfall.

Rail

Kankesanturai is the terminus of the Northern Line on the Sri Lanka Railways

Sri Lanka Railways

Sri Lanka Railway Department, branded "Sri Lanka Railways", is a key department of the Sri Lankan Government under the Ministry of Transport with a history that begins in 1858...

 network. Until 1990, Kankesanturai was the terminus of the Yal Devi

Yal Devi

Yal Devi is a major intercity express train in Sri Lanka. Operated by Sri Lanka Railways, the Yal Devi connects Colombo, the nation's commercial hub, with the northern cities of Jaffna and Kankesanturai. Since 1990, the service has had to terminate at intermediate stations, due to war...

 service. During the war, trains terminated at Vavniya, leaving Kankesanturai isolated from the national railway network. The line is currently being rebuilt to Kankesanturai, with the Yal Devi planned to return to the town.

Port

The Port at Kankesanturai was closed during the war. It is the nearest port for all eastern ports in India, as well as for Myanmar and Bangladesh.

In 2011, India and Sri Lanka signed an agreement to revive the port by clearing sunken ships and deepening the harbour. The Port should significantly lower the transit time of goods to and from the east coast of India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

, and Myanmar

Myanmar

Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....

, and propel economic activity in the north.