The Centre has sanctioned Rs 180 crore for developing the riverfront along the Ganga in the capital with a 3.5-km-long promenade.

Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi confirmed the central government’s sanction at an event in the capital on Thursday. He promised that the riverfront in the capital would soon be developed on the lines of Mumbai’s Marine Drive or Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati riverfront.

“The riverfront along the Ganga in Patna is not developed. But this would be a thing of the past, as the central government has sanctioned Rs 180 crore for developing the riverfront,” he said at Tourism Conclave that was organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry and the tourism department.

The project is executed under the ambit of National Ganga River Basin Authority, a World Bank-funded scheme aimed at effective abatement of pollution and conservation of the Ganga, an official source in the urban development department, said.

The department is the nodal agency for the riverfront project. According to sources, the Centre is contributing 70 per cent of the total expenditure, while the state government is handling the rest.

Modi said the tender for the riverfront development would be floated in January or February next year.

“The riverfront along the Ganga would be developed within a period of two years from now, on the lines of the Sabarmati riverfront in Ahmedabad and the Ganga riverfront in Hardwar,” he said.

Under the project, all the ghats along the Ganga from Collectorate Ghat to Nauzar Ghat in Patna City — as many as 27 ghats fall along the riverfront — would be developed and upgraded.

The riverfront is 6.5km long and 7km wide.

Modi said majority of these ghats on the riverfront would be connected with each other so that people can take a stroll along the river. The promenade, a speciality of the Patna riverfront, would be 3.5km long.

The project would also include cultural centres with recreational facilities, parks and eateries. The promenade would be complemented by benches, decorative lights, parks and kiosks among other facilities, said Modi.

Krishna Lall, the managing director of city-based Sen & Lall Consultant Pvt. Ltd, however, clarified that the city’s riverfront would be better than Hardwar’s, as the latter does not have a promenade.

“The Patna riverfront would have a promenade, a 3.5km walkway for pedestrians from Collectorate Ghat to Rani Ghat. The Hardwar riverfront does not have a promenade. Besides there would be plenty of facilities at the riverfront, right from cultural and eco centres, from dolphin centres to eateries for those taking a stroll along the river,” said Lall.

The city-based firm had prepared the detailed project report, along with Nishant Lall, an architect in New Delhi.