Sahibganj to be exim hub with a multimodal plan: Nitin Gadkari

Sahibganj in Jharkhand is set to come up as an exim point with a multimodal hub being developed there, and the government's nod to Rs 1,955-crore project on Thursday to link it to Bihar will further boost connectivity, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said.

"We are constructing a multi-modal hub on the Ganga at Sahibganj with railway, road and water connectivity. We have acquired land and exports can be done to Bangladesh and even to Myanmar, besides goods despatches to West Bengal and Bihar," the road transport, highways and shipping minister said while interacting with the media.

He said the Cabinet nod to the Rs 1,955-crore highway project for construction of a link between Sahibganj in Jharkhand to Manihari in Bihar, including a bridge on the Ganga, will improve connectivity between North India and the North-East.

"This project will prove to be a new link to connect North India to the North-East," he said, adding that goods could also be transported from Sahibganj to Chittagong and other places potentially reducing the transportation cost.

According to Gadkari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of the project and land.

"The project will prove a milestone for development of Bihar and Jharkhand, and about 70 per cent of the land has been acquired for it," he said.

The cost of the project is estimated to be Rs 1,954.77 crore, including that of land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities. The total length of the road to be developed is approximately 22 kms.

The project, the minister said, will be executed in hybrid annuity mode, with the government providing 40 per cent of the cost, while the developer will have to arrange for the remaining 60 per cent.

The new link road will be approximately 16 km long, starting (from Sahibganj Pass in Jharkhand) to another six-km stretch near Narenpur (junction of NH-133B and NH-131A on Manihari bypass in Bihar). This stretch includes a four-lane bridge on the Ganga.

The project, the government said, will help expedite improvement of infrastructure in Bihar and Jharkhand and cut down the time and cost of travel in these states. The development of this stretch is also expected to help uplift socio-economic conditions of people of this region in the state.

It would also enhance employment potential for local labourers for project activities.

The project highway serves as a new formation of the missing link at NH-131A to NH-133B connecting Sahibganj in Jharkhand and Manihari in Bihar. At present, there is a missing link between Jharkhand and Bihar as there is no bridge on the Ganga at this point.

The vehicular traffic uses Vikramshila Setu at Bhagalpur on Farakka barrage, which means covering a long distance for reaching North Bihar.