The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approves the four-laning of the Khagaria-Purnea section of NH-31 and NH-231 in Bihar, strengthening agricultural logistics and interstate connectivity across the Seemanchal region.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the four-laning of the Khagaria-Purnea section of National Highway 31 and National Highway 231 in Bihar at a cost of Rs 3,936.05 crore. The project will upgrade the two-lane corridor to four lanes, addressing longstanding bottlenecks including insufficient geometric features, sharp curves and congestion across densely populated stretches in Khagaria, Bhagalpur, Katihar and Purnea districts.
Upon completion, travel time between key destinations along the corridor is expected to reduce from approximately 3.5 to 4 hours to approximately 1.5 to 2 hours. The upgraded highway will strengthen interstate road links between Bihar and neighbouring West Bengal and improve access to Jharkhand through the broader National Highway network. The project will incorporate engineering interventions to enhance flood resilience, including improved road geometry, strengthened pavement structures and modern drainage systems, addressing the vulnerability of eastern Bihar’s transport network to seasonal flooding from the Kosi and Ganga river systems.
The upgraded corridor will link five PM Gati Shakti Economic Nodes, including one textile cluster, two mega food parks and two fishing and seafood parks, along with 11 logistics nodes comprising four major railway stations, one airport, four National Highways and two State Highways, significantly enhancing multimodal integration across the region. The highway is expected to benefit agricultural supply chains in the region, particularly for bananas from Khagaria and makhana from Purnea, by reducing transit times and improving market connectivity for perishable commodities produced across the Seemanchal region.
Source: Press Information Bureau (PIB)
