New Delhi, June 3 (IANS) The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the upgradation of the Khagaria-Purnea section of NH-31 and NH-231 in Bihar to a four-lane highway at a total capital cost of Rs 3,936.05 crore.

The 143.529-km project will be developed under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) toll mode and is aimed at improving connectivity, reducing travel time and boosting economic activity across key districts of Bihar.

“The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today has approved upgradation of the Khagaria-Purnea Section of NH-31 and NH-231 to the 4-Lane Standard (143. 529 kms) in Bihar on BOT (Toll) Mode at a cost of Rs 3936.05 crore,” it was announced.

According to the government, the proposed project will address major geometric deficiencies, sharp curves and congestion in built-up stretches across Khagaria, Bhagalpur, Katihar and Purnia districts.

As part of the project, a 6.729-km Greenfield bypass around Purnea city will also be constructed to ease urban traffic congestion and improve traffic flow on the corridor.

The government said the upgraded highway corridor is expected to significantly improve road safety, fuel efficiency and vehicle operating costs, while reducing travel time on the route to nearly two hours.

The corridor forms part of the Patna-Purnea route and will provide seamless connectivity to important economic, transport and logistics hubs in the state.

The project is also expected to strengthen multi-modal connectivity by linking five PM Gati Shakti economic nodes, including one textile cluster, two mega food parks and two fishing seafood parks.

In addition, the corridor will connect 11 logistics nodes comprising four major railway stations, one airport, four national highways and two state highways, facilitating faster movement of passengers and goods across the region.

The upgraded highway will connect major transport routes including NH-27, NH-13, NH-131A and NH-231, along with state highways SH-95 and SH-77.

Key urban centres and transport nodes connected through the project include Khagaria, Bhagalpur, Katihar and Purnia, along with railway stations in these districts and the airport at Purnea.

The government said the project is expected to generate substantial employment opportunities, with an estimated 32.59 lakh person-days of direct employment and 40.55 lakh person-days of indirect employment during construction and related activities.

–IANS

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