Union secretary AK Upadhyay and (right) BIA president KPS Keshri address the news meet in Patna on Tuesday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, Feb 7: The state government’s initiative to build national and state highways in public private partnership (PPP) mode today earned accolades from Union road transport and highways secretary A.K. Upadhyay.

Praising the effort of the state while interacting with the members and the office-bearers of Bihar Industries Association (BIA) on the association’s premises, Upadhyay said Bihar was one of the two-three states taking initiative on its own to construct both state and national highways in PPP mode.

“Of the total length of national highways in Bihar, about 60 to 70 per cent are either four-lane or six-lane. A lot of credit goes to Bihar for creating such an environment. Earlier, bids were not coming but things have changed now,” Upadhyay said.

“Qualitatively, we are much better (in terms of road construction). It is a sign of progress that the state government has made in the past several years. I also feel great being a part of the success story of the state,” Upadhyay said, adding that Bihar’s governance was being talked about across the globe.

In what could be termed as a revelation for the state’s common people, Upadhyay, who is also the chairman of National Highways Authority of India, said the average length of the national highway roads in Bihar is 38km per 100sqkm against the national average of 22km. It shows the state has fair share of national highways, he said.

The secretary’s explanation came in response to a demand made by BIA president KPS Keshri for construction of national highways in the state in proportion to its population. Keshri said the average length of national highways in Bihar is 4.4km per lakh population against the national average of 6.9km.

Outlining the national highway projects either implemented or under construction, he said the Grand Trunk Road would be made six-lane. Besides, the east-west corridor of 487 km has been completed except 20km, which would be completed by June.

“Union minister for road transport C.P. Joshi would inaugurate the Kosi bridge, connecting the two parts of Mithilanchal, tomorrow,” the secretary said, adding that it would change the face of the region entirely.

The bridge has strategic importance because of its location near the border.

Replying to a query on the maintenance of Gandhi Setu, Upadhyay said a consultant had been appointed and its representatives visited the site twice. “They would submit a report soon. Thereafter the project for its strengthening would be awarded,” he said.

The road transport secretary said that the centre has been facing difficulty in meeting the state’s demand for funds for carrying out maintenance of the national highways but the problem would be sorted to an extent in the next fiscal as the government is expected to double the maintenance funds from Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 2,000 crore.