Patna: Chief minister Samrat Choudhary on Monday urged Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari to seek early clearance from Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) for four major highway and expressway projects in Bihar, involving Rs49,751 crore. CCEA, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is set to consider the proposals after their approval by the Union govt’s Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee.Choudhary made the request during a high-level meeting with Gadkari in New Delhi. He said the four projects, together covering about 330 km, were vital for reducing logistics costs and easing traffic movement in the state. He asked the ministry to ensure final CCEA approval at the earliest, saying the corridors would give Bihar’s connectivity a new direction.The projects include NH-727AA, a two-lane bridge over Gandak river, along with a bridge and approach road connecting Manuapul in Bettiah, Bihar, with Tiwaripatti in Sevarahi, Uttar Pradesh, whose estimated cost would be Rs1,976.77 crore. The second project involves six-lane elevated and service roads on the Saristabad-Didarganj and Anisabad-Didarganj sections at Rs8,455.86 crore under the Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM). Patna-Purnia four-lane greenfield expressway, NH-09, also under HAM, is estimated at Rs31,987.11 crore. Varanasi-Ranchi-Kolkata six-lane greenfield highway from Konki village to Lerua village is pegged at Rs7,331.40 crore under HAM.Choudhary also requested early notification of the Bihar section of Gorakhpur-Siliguri Expressway as a National Expressway. He said the state govt was fully assisting National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in pre-construction work, while land acquisition under the 3A notification was at an advanced stage in the districts concerned. Construction of the expressway, he said, would create new bridges over north Bihar rivers and bring wide changes to the transport network.The CM discussed Raxaul-Haldia Expressway, saying land acquisition had begun after approval of its revised alignment. He described the corridor as strategically important for boosting trade with Nepal and giving Bihar direct connectivity to Haldia port, and sought early notification and approval.He further urged faster four-laning of the Muzaffarpur-Barauni section of NH-122, for which NHAI has prepared the DPR.Choudhary said 2,329 km of National Highways in Bihar had been handed to road construction department for maintenance and development. The department has sent DPRs to the Centre for six NH projects covering 323 km and costing Rs13,015 crore, including the Vikramshila bridge approach road and Mashrakh-Chakia-Bhitthamod four-lane widening.He sought early technical and financial approval for these proposals and thanked PM and Gadkari for supporting Bihar’s road infrastructure and their continued cooperation in developing the state’s wider road infrastructure network.
