The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the construction of a new 4.56 km long bridge on the river Ganga in Bihar. According to an official statement, the bridge would connect Digha and Sonepur in the state. The project is estimated to cost Rs 3,064.45 crore, including 2233.81 crore for civil construction, it added. The bridge will facilitate easier and faster travel, which will advance the state's overall development, particularly in north Bihar, the statement added.
"The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today gave its approval for the construction of the 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," it said.
Rail cum road bridge connects Digha and Sonepur
Digha is situated at Patna and South Bank of the Ganga River and Sonepur at the North Bank of the Ganga River in Saran District. These two places are presently connected by a rail cum road bridge for the movement of light vehicles only. Therefore, the present road cannot be used for the transport of goods and commodities, which is a major economic blockade, the statement added.
The constraint will be removed by providing the bridge between Digha and Sonepur, and goods and commodities can be transported once the bridge is constructed, unleashing the economic potential of the region, as per the statement.
Project will be made on EPC model
The work is to be implemented on an EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) model with the use of the latest technology like 5D-building information modelling (BIM), bridge health monitoring system (BHMS) and monthly drone mapping to ensure the quality of construction and operations. The work is targeted to be completed in 42 months from the appointed date.
"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 oldNH-27), Bettiah (NH-727) in the Northern side of Bihar," the statement said. It also pointed out that this project is a part of the Buddha circuit.
According to the statement, the economic analysis results of the project have shown an economic internal rate of return (EIRR) of 17.6 per cent in base case and 13.1 per cent in the worst-case scenario which may be attributed to the savings in distance and time travelled.
(With PTI inputs)
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