Highway projects for Bihar and Orissa

The Union Ministry?s Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved two projects for widening of highways in Bihar and Orissa. Under the first project the Patna-Dobhi section of the NH-83 in Bihar ? a 127 km stretch, will be widened to four lanes. The road will act as a feeder for the international Nalanda University being planned in Rajgir. The project which is being funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is expected to cost ? 2,015.6 crore and will reduce vehicle operating costs and travel time. The cost includes civil construction, supervision works, land acquisition, rehabilitation and pre-construction activities. The Japanese government will also fund the stretch between NH-30 at Patna and the junction of NH-83 and NH-2.

The second project, costing ? 3,636.43 crore is for converting a 368km stretch of the national highway NH-6 in Orissa and Jharkhand under the National Highways Development Project (NHDP) Phase IV. The project will be on a Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis with a concession period of 30 years including a construction period of 36 months. The project will improve infrastructure in both the states and also reduce the time and cost of travel for traffic, particularly heavy vehicles.