The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today has approved the Construction of 4-lane Sahebganj-Areraj-Bettiah section of the NH-139W in Bihar on Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) with a total project length of 78.942 km and total capital cost of Rs.3,822.31 crore.

The proposed four-lane greenfield project is to improve connectivity between the State Capital Patna with Bettiah connecting the North Bihar Districts of Vaishali, Saran, Siwan, Gopalganj, Muzaffarpur, East Champaran and West Champaran up to the areas along the Indo-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.

The project will connect seven PM Gati Shakti economic Nodes, six Social Nodes, eight Logistic Nodes, nine Major Tourism and Religious Centers 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 NH-139W has been planned to provide a high-speed connectivity to alternate routes that are presently congested and geometrically deficient, and pass-through built-up areas and will serve as an important link to the NH-31, NH-722, NH-727, NH-27 and NH-227A.

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 hours, compared to existing alternatives, while offering safe, fast and uninterrupted connectivity for both passenger and freight vehicles.

The proposed project with 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 increase in economic activity in the vicinity of the proposed corridor.

Project Alignment Map for Sahebganj-Areraj-Bettiah section of NH-139W

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MJPS/SKS