Patna: Road construction secretary Pankaj Kumar Pal on Friday directed officials to expedite work on the Bettiah-Sahebganj NH-139W four-lane corridor, a key project under Bihar’s Buddhist Circuit initiative.Reviewing ongoing National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) projects, Pal said the 198.5-km corridor, being developed at an estimated cost of Rs 2,895 crore, would provide seamless connectivity between Bakarpur, Manikpur, Sahebganj, Areraj and Bettiah. Once completed, the project is expected to improve road infrastructure, boost tourism and drive economic growth in the region.Pal asked departmental officials to conduct site inspections and submit progress reports at the earliest. He also stressed the need for early resolution of pending land acquisition issues, directing officials to remove all obstacles that could delay the project. The corridor is being executed in four packages.Officials informed the meeting that Package-I involves construction of a 38.81-km four-lane stretch between Bakarpur and Manikpur in Vaishali district. About 45% of the work on this section has been completed.The review also found that the four-lane elevated corridor in Begusarai city is nearly complete, with around 96% of the work finished and the remaining portion expected to be wrapped up shortly.The meeting reviewed the progress of several other key highway projects, including the Amas-Darbhanga Expressway, Chhapra-Patna six-lane corridor, Bakhtiyarpur-Purnia road, NH-31 four-laning, Mokama-Mirza Chauki four-lane corridor, Patna-Bettiah corridor, Mokama-Munger corridor, and connectivity projects in Vaishali and Darbhanga.Pal directed engineers to regularly inspect all under-construction projects and submit periodic progress reports. He emphasized that all works must meet prescribed quality standards and be completed within stipulated deadlines.Road construction department special secretary Shailja Sharma, joint secretary Abhishek Palasia, engineer-in-chief Umakant Rajak and other officials attended the meeting, which focused on the timely completion of NHAI projects across Bihar.
