News Brief
Bihar To Get New Four-Lane Greenfield Highway, To Link Patna And Bettiah, Covering Seven Districts
Project Alignment Map for Sahebganj-Areraj-Bettiah section of NH-139W
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the construction of a new four-lane highway between Sahebganj, Areraj and Bettiah in Bihar under the Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM).
The 78.94 km greenfield project, with an estimated capital cost of Rs 3,822.31 crore, is set to transform connectivity across northern Bihar, the press release stated.
The highway will link Patna to Bettiah, covering the districts of Vaishali, Saran, Siwan, Gopalganj, Muzaffarpur, East Champaran and West Champaran, and extend up to areas adjoining the Indo-Nepal border.
The corridor is expected to ease freight movement, connect agricultural and industrial hubs, and improve access to cross-border trade routes, fuelling regional economic growth.
The project is also significant from a cultural and tourism perspective. It will improve access to nine major religious and heritage centres, including Kesariya Buddha Stupa, Someshwarnath Mandir, Jain Mandir, Vishwa Shanti Stupa and Patna’s Mahavir Temple.
As part of the PM Gati Shakti framework, NH-139W will connect seven economic nodes, six social nodes and eight logistics nodes, creating seamless links with national highways NH-31, NH-722, NH-727, NH-27 and NH-227A.
The high-speed greenfield alignment has been designed to allow average vehicular speeds of 80 km/h, cutting travel time between Sahebganj and Bettiah from 2.5 hours to just one hour.
Beyond improved travel, the project is expected to generate 14.22 lakh man-days of direct employment and 17.69 lakh man-days of indirect employment, while spurring additional opportunities through new economic activity along the corridor.
