Bihar infra boost: Cabinet clears 4-lane Mokama–Munger road corridor; Rs 4,447 crore allocated

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the construction of a 4-lane greenfield access-controlled Mokama–Munger section of the Buxar–Bhagalpur high-speed corridor in Bihar. The project will be taken up on Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM), covering 82.4 km at a total capital cost of Rs 4,447.38 crore, the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways said in a statement.“The corridor, designed for speeds of up to 100 km/h, will cut overall travel time to about 1.5 hours while offering safer, faster and uninterrupted connectivity for both passenger and freight vehicles,” the ministry said.The Mokama–Munger link will connect key towns such as Barahiya, Lakhisarai, Jamalpur and Munger, while providing onward connectivity to Bhagalpur. The project is expected to accelerate industrial activity in eastern Bihar, with the Munger–Jamalpur–Bhagalpur belt emerging as an economic hub. “The region is developing with a defence ordnance factory, locomotive workshops, food processing centres, textile clusters and logistics hubs. Increased industrial activity will drive freight movement on the new section,” the statement added.The ministry said the project will generate an estimated 14.83 lakh man-days of direct employment and 18.46 lakh man-days of indirect employment. “The corridor will also induce additional job opportunities owing to increased economic activity in the vicinity,” it added.