Highway in Tripura
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister, has given its approval for Improvement & Widening to two lane with paved shoulder of road from km 101.300 (Khowai) to km 236.213 (Harina) of NH-208, covering a total length of 134.913 kms in the State of Tripura.
The project involves investment of Rs 2,486.78 crore which includes a loan component of Rs 1,511.70 crore. The loan assistant will be from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) under Official Development Assistance (ODA) scheme. The highway will create better road connectivity between various parts of Tripura and provide alternative access to Assam and Meghalaya from Tripura.
Development of the project stretch of NH-208 would not only improve Interstate connectivity between Assam and Tripura via NH-208A but also reduce the transit time and provide safer connectivity for the travellers. As the highway passes very close to Bangladesh border and it would improve connectivity to Bangladesh through Kailashahar, Kamalpur and Khowai Border Check Post. The land border trade would also potentially grow with the improvement in road network in the region through development of the project road.
The construction period for the project stretches will be 2 years which includes the maintenance of these National Highways stretches for 5 years (in the case of flexible pavement)/ 10 years (in the case of rigid pavement) after completion of construction.
6-Lane High Cable stayed Bridge in Bihar
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister also gave its approval for the construction of new 4,556 m long, 6-Lane High Level/ Extra Dosed Cable stayed Bridge across River Ganga (Parallel to Western Side of Existing Digha-Sonepur Rail-Cum Road Bridge) and its approaches on both sides in the districts of Patna and Saran (NH-139W) in Bihar on EPC mode.
The Total cost for the project is Rs 3,064.45 crore which includes civil construction cost of Rs 2,233.81 crore. Digha and Sonepur are presently connected by a Rail-cum-Road Bridge for movement of light vehicles only. Therefore, the present road cannot be used for transport of goods and commodities which is a major economic blockade. The constraint will be removed by providing this bridge, between Digha and Sonepur and; goods and commodities can be transported once the bridge is constructed, unleashing the economic potential of the region.
This bridge will provide direct connectivity from Patna to Golden quadrilateral corridor via NH-139 at Aurangabad and Sonepur (NH-31), Chhapra, Motihari (East-West corridor old NH-27), Bettiah (NH-727) in the Northern side of Bihar. The project also being a part of Buddha circuit, would provide better connectivity to Buddha Stupa at Vaishali and Keshariya.
This project is falling in Patna and will provide better connectivity to North Bihar and South part of the Bihar through State Capital. The Bridge will make the movement of vehicles faster and easier resulting in overall development of the region. The Economic analysis results have shown an EIRR of 17.6 percent in base case and 13.1 percent is worst case which may be attributed to the savings in distance and time travelled.
The bridge will be implemented on EPC mode with the use latest technology like 5D-Building Information Modelling (BIM), Bridge Health Monitoring System (BHMS), monthly drone mapping to ensure quality of construction and operations. The work is targeted to be completed in 42 months from the appointed date.
The Bridge will connect two Districts namely Patna at Digha on South side and Saran on North Side across River Ganga, Bihar. Government has declared the stretch “the Highway starting from its junction with NH-139 near Patna (AIIMS) connecting Bakarpur, Manikpur, Sahebganj, Areraj and terminating at its junction with NH- 727 near Bettiah in the State of Bihar” as NH-139(W) vide Gazette Notification dated 8th July 2021.
