Patna, Aug. 11: Chief minister Nitish Kumar today urged engineers and architects to cash in on the boom in the construction sector of the state.

“Construction is going on in full swing in the state. Roads, bridges and buildings are coming up everywhere. Architects and engineers can reap benefits of the boom in the construction sector,” he said while inaugurating the five-year bachelor of architecture course at the Patna campus of Birla Institute of Technology, (BIT), Mesra.

The chief minister, who laid the foundation of the institute, visited BIT after six years and said: “Today, there is an emphasis on constructing green buildings, which are not only eco-friendly but also consumes less energy and are earthquake resistant.”

Nitish said as a chief minister, setting up a campus of BIT, Mesra at Patna was his first big decision in the field of higher education which was followed by Chanakya National Law University, Aryabhatt Knowledge University, MBBS course at IGIMS, Chandragupt Institute of Management, efforts for setting up of the central university and the revival of the ancient Nalanda University.

BIT Mesra vice-chancellor Ajay Chakrabarty said the first batch of 40 students of BArch course commenced today after the chief minister’s orientation class.

At present, National Institute of Technology, Patna, is imparting architecture course. The course has assumed importance because of the demand of architects owing to the boom in the construction sector. Many big firms, which are engaged in different types of construction, are hiring architects in large numbers.

The BIT administration has taken a three-year approval from the Council of Architecture for running the course. It will be renewed after three years. The administration has appointed four faculty members for the course.