Aizawl, Nov 12 (IANS): The ambitious Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project (KMMTTP), which will facilitate a gateway for the northeastern states to Southeast Asian countries, is almost nearing completion on the Mizoram side, state Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati said.
The Governor said that the multi-crore KMMTTP aims to connect northeast India with Kolkata through the Sittwe Port of Myanmar via the Bay of Bengal.
"The much-expected project is almost nearing completion on the Mizoram side," Kambhampati said during the 51st conference of Governors, Lt Governors and Administrators at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday.
President Ram Nath Kovind presided over the annual conference, which was also attended by Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
Kambhampati said: "When completed, the KMMTTP will provide a valuable alternate route and considerably cut down the distance between the northeast region and mainland India."
The region is currently connected only via the narrow Siliguri corridor in West Bengal, also known as the 'Chicken's Neck', and therefore, it is in the best interest of the nation if special attention is given to the KMMTTP, he said.
India's northeastern region, comprising eight states and home to 45.58 million people (2011 census), shares 5,687 km borders with China, Myanmar, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal.
The mountainous region is connected to the rest of the country via land route through the thin Siliguri corridor along western Assam and northern West Bengal.
To make an alternate land route, the External Affairs Ministry had in 2008 initiated the Rs 536 crore KMMTTP to ease India's access to Southeast Asia.
According to the officials in the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), due to the delay in completion of the vital project owing to numerous reasons, its cost has increased eight to nine times.
The DoNER ministry officials expect that the project, which missed several deadlines, is likely to be completed by the end of 2023.