New highways and bridges worth Rs 12K crore to dominate PM’s Rs 16K crore gift for Bihar

NEW DELHI: Highway and road bridge projects worth nearly Rs 12,000 crore will dominate the long list of development works worth more than Rs 16,000 crore to be gifted to poll-bound Bihar by Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the next 10 days, government officials told ET.

“These projects will improve infrastructure and ease of living for the people of Bihar and leverage public expenditure to act as a major driver of growth in times of Covid-19,” a senior official said on condition of anonymity. Modi will announce or inaugurate railway projects worth Rs 2,700 crore, petroleum and LPGprojects worth Rs 901 crore and urban development projects worth Rs 270 crore. Modi has already announced projects for fisheries and animal husbandry sector for Bihar worth Rs 294 crore.

The foundations stone of four major four-lane national highway projects worth over Rs 7,000 crore will be laid by the PM, including stretches of Patna-Gaya-Dhobi, Rajauli-Bakhtiyarpur, Aarah-Mohania, and Narayanpur-Purnia. Modi will also lay the foundation stone of the ambitious six-lane Patna Ring road project worth Rs 800 Cr and a new 5.6 km long road bridge parallel to the Mahatma Gandhi Setu in Patna over the river Ganga worth Rs 3,000 crore. The PM will also lay the foundation stone of two more road bridges in Bhagalpur (parallel to Vikramshila Setu) and Phalaut worth Rs 1,100 crore each.

“These projects are expected to further improve road connectivity in Bihar which has been a USP of the JDU-BJP government in the state. The new bridges in Patna and Bhagalpur over the river Ganga will ease the congestion over the existing Mahatma Gandhi Setu and Vikramshila Setu respectively. The road bridge over Kosi in Phalaut will fill a 10-km long missing link between Phulaut and Bihpur on NH-106 and the traffic from Phulaut to Bihpur will not need to take a 72-km detour as at present. The Patna ring road project will be a major game-changer too,” a senior central government official said.

Among the railway projects to be inaugurated by the PM will be Kosi Railway bridge in Supaul worth Rs 516 crore and new railway lines between Hajipur and Vaishali and Islampur to Nateshwar worth Rs 450 crore and Rs 409 crore respectively. The announcement of the electrification of five railway lines in Bihar at the cost of Rs 880 crore will also be made by the PM. A new broad-gauge train service in Supaul and a Locomotive Shed in Barauni will also be inaugurated. On September 13, PM will inaugurate the 193-km long Durgapur to Banka pipeline built by Indian Oil worth Rs 634 crore and LPG bottling plants in Banka and Sagauli worth Rs 267 crore for meeting the rising demand of LPG in Bihar.

Modi will also announce water supply schemes and lay foundation stones of sewage treatment plants in Patna under Namami Gange scheme worth Rs 270 crore.