New Delhi, Sept 10 (UNI) The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today approved the construction of 4-lane greenfield access-controlled Mokama-Munger section of the Buxar-Bhagalpur high-speed corridor in Bihar.
Addressing the media on the Cabinet decision, union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the 82.400 km project will be constructed on Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) with a total capital cost of Rs 4,447.38 crore.
He said the project will provide connectivity to important regional cities such as Mokama, Barahiya, Lakhisarai, Jamalpur and Munger linking to Bhagalpur.
The 4-lane access-controlled corridor with close tolling, supporting average vehicular speeds of 80 km/h with design speed of 100 km/h will reduce the overall travel time to approximately 1.5 hours, while offering safer, faster, and uninterrupted connectivity for both passenger and freight vehicles.
The proposed project will generate about 14.83 lakh man-days of direct employment and 18.46 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.
The Munger-Jamalpur-Bhagalpur belt in eastern Bihar is emerging as a key industrial region focusing on an ordnance factory, a locomotive workshop (in Jamalpur) and food processing and related logistics and warehousing hubs.
Bhagalpur stands out as a textile and logistics hub, led by Bhagalpuri silk. Barahiya is emerging as a region for food packaging, processing and agro-warehousing. The increased economic activity in the region is expected to drive up the freight movement and the traffic on the Mokama-Munger section in the future.
