THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
New Delhi, Sept 10: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved two key projects aimed at enhancing connectivity and economic activity in Bihar.
These include the construction of the 82.4 km, 4-lane greenfield Mokama-Munger section of the Buxar-Bhagalpur High-Speed Corridor and the doubling of the 177 km Bhagalpur-Dumka-Rampurhat railway line.
The Mokama-Munger corridor, to be built under the Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) at an estimated cost of Rs 4,447.38 crore, will be access-controlled and support average speeds of 80 km/h with a design speed of 100 km/h.
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The project will reduce travel time to roughly 1.5 hours, ensuring faster, safer, and uninterrupted connectivity for passengers and freight. The route will connect key regional cities including Mokama, Barahiya, Lakhisarai, Jamalpur, Munger, and Bhagalpur.
The Munger-Jamalpur-Bhagalpur belt is emerging as an industrial hub, with ordnance factories, the Jamalpur locomotive workshop, food processing units like ITC in Munger, agro-warehousing, and textile-based industries such as Bhagalpuri silk.
Barahiya is also developing as a center for food packaging and logistics. The corridor is expected to boost freight movement and overall economic activity in the region.
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Separately, the Cabinet approved the doubling of the Bhagalpur-Dumka-Rampurhat railway line, spanning Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal, at a cost of approximately Rs 3,169 crore.
The enhanced railway line will improve capacity, operational efficiency, and service reliability for both passengers and freight.
