The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA),chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the constructionof 120.10 km long greenfield and brownfield corridor with four-lane accesscontrol of Patna-Ara-Sasaram Highway. The project will be developed on Hybrid AnnuityMode (HAM) with a total capital expenditure of INR 3,712.40-crore.

At present, traffic between Sasaram, Ara, andPatna depends on state highways (SH-2, SH-12, SH-81, and SH-102), and traveltakes 3-4 hours due to severe traffic congestion, especially in Ara city. To solvethe growing traffic problem, a greenfield corridor will be developed, as wellas the upgrade of the 10.6 km brownfield highway, which will facilitate trafficin the densely populated areas of Ara, Grahini, Piro, Bikramganj, Mokar, andSasaram.

The route of the project will be connected to themajor transport corridors NH-19, NH-319, NH-922, NH-131G, and NH-120, providinguninterrupted and fast traffic connectivity to Aurangabad, Kaimur, and Patna. Inaddition, the project will provide direct transportation connectivity to the followingimportant locations:

-         JayaprakashNarayan International Airport (Patna), and proposed Bihta Airport.

-         Fourmajor Railway Stations: Sasaram, Ara, Danapur, and Patna.

-         OneInland Water Transport Terminal: Patna.

Apart from this, the highway will be directlyconnected to Patna Ring Road, which will make freight and passenger trafficfaster and more efficient. After completion of the project, communicationbetween Patna, Lucknow, Ranchi, and Varanasi will improve, which willaccelerate regional economic development.