NEW DELHI: The Cabinet on Friday is likely to approve a new 120-km greenfield highway from Patna to Sasaram in poll-bound Bihar. The four-lane access-controlled highway project would cost around Rs 3,700 crore.
Officials said the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had started preparatory work more than a year ago on this key project, which will improve connectivity between Patna, Ara and Sasaram. The new highway will be built in the public private partnership mode and would be completed in three years from the date of start of construction.
TOI has learnt that the land acquisition work is almost complete and the project would be bid out soon after Cabinet approval. The new highway will improve connectivity from Patna to Varanasi and Lucknow as well.
Sources said the govt is likely to roll out several highway, railway and other infrastructure projects in the state, where assembly election is scheduled later this year. The BJP-led NDA would focus on winning the confidence of voters by expediting development projects.
The govt in the 2024-25 full Budget, presented in July last year, had announced support for development of road connectivity projects, namely Patna-Purnea Expressway, Buxar-Bhagalpur Expressway, and Bodhgaya, Rajgir, Vaishali and Darbhanga spurs, and an additional two-lane bridge over the Ganga river at Buxar at a total cost of Rs 26,000 crore.