Cabinet Approves 4-Lane Sahebganj-Bettiah Highway In Bihar At A Cost Of Rs 3,822 Crore

New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the construction of the 4-lane Sahebganj-Areraj-Bettiah section of National Highway (NH) 139W in Bihar across a total project length of 78.942 km with an investment of Rs 3,822.31 crore.

The proposed four-lane greenfield project, which will be taken up on Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM), will improve connectivity between the state capital Patna and Bettiah, connecting the north Bihar districts of Vaishali, Saran, Siwan, Gopalganj, Muzaffarpur, East Champaran, and West Champaran up to the areas along the India-Nepal border. The project will support the movement of long-distance freight traffic, improve access to key infrastructure and facilitate regional economic development by improving connectivity to agricultural zones, industrial areas, and cross-border trade routes, according to an official statement.

The proposed greenfield alignment will support average vehicular speeds of 80 km/h against the design speed of 100 km/h. This will reduce the overall travel time between Sahebganj and Bettiah, from 2.5 hours to 1 hour, compared to existing alternatives, while offering safe, fast and uninterrupted connectivity for both passenger and freight vehicles, the statement said.

The project will connect seven PM Gati Shakti economic nodes, six social nodes, eight logistic nodes, nine major tourism and religious centres by improving access to key heritage and Buddhist tourist sites including the Kesariya Buddha Stupa (Sahebganj), Someshwarnath Mandir (Areraj), Jain Mandir and Vishwa Shanti Stupa (Vaishali), and Mahavir Temple (Patna), thereby strengthening the Buddhist circuit and international tourism potential of Bihar, the statement added.

NH-139W has been planned to provide high-speed connectivity to alternative routes that are presently congested and geometrically deficient, pass through built-up areas, and will serve as an important link to NH-31, NH-722, NH-727, NH-27, and NH-227A, the statement said.

The proposed project, with a length of 78.94 km, will generate close to 14.22 lakh man-days of direct employment and 17.69 lakh man-days of indirect employment. The project will also induce additional employment opportunities due to an increase in economic activity in the vicinity of the proposed corridor, the statement added.