PATNA, Nov. 3 -- Chief minister Samrat Chaudhary on Monday discussed in detail the strengthening of the infrastructure of national highways and expressways in Bihar and early start of pending projects during his meeting with Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari at the latter's residence in New Delhi. Expressing gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Gadkari for their continued support for the development of roads and infrastructure in Bihar, the CM placed his request for early approval of major road projects to give major boost to connectivity in the state. The CM informed the Union minister that four important projects in Bihar with a total length of about 330 km at an estimated cost of Rs.49,751 crore have been approved by the PPPAC (Public Private Partnership Assessment Committee) of the Government of India. "These projects are very important in terms of reducing the logistics cost and facilitating smooth traffic in the state. They are currently under consideration for final approval of the CCEA (Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs)," he added. The projects include construction of NH0-727AA (2-lane bridge over Gandak river at a cost of 1976.77 crore), construction of bridge and access road connecting Manuapul (Betiah) in Bihar with Tiwaripatti (Sevrahi) in Uttar Pradesh, construction of 6 lane elevated and service road in Saristabad-Didarganj and Anisabad-Didarganj section in hybrid annuity mode (HAM mode) at a cost of Rs.8,455.86 crore, construction of Patna-Purnia 4-lane Greenfield Expressway (N0-09, under HAM mode) at a cost of Rs.31,987.11 crore and construction of Varanasi-Ranchi-Kolkata 6 lane greenfield highway (from Konki village to Lerua village on HAM mode) at a cost of Rs.8,455.40 crore. During the meeting, the CM also urged the Union minister to notify the Bihar section of the Gorakhpur-Siliguri Expressway as the National Expressway. "The state government is giving full support to NHAI in pre-construction work and the work of land acquisition (3A notification) in the concerned districts is in advance stage. The construction of this expressway will bring a major change in the traffic scenario of the state," he added. The CM also said that the land acquisition process for the revised route determination of Raxaul-Haldia Expressway has been started. "It is very important and needs early approval to increase trade activities with Nepal and establish direct connectivity of Bihar with Haldia port," he added. The CM also briefed the Union minister about the Muzaffarpur-Baruni (NH-122) 4-lane construction and requested for speeding up the 4-lane widening work. "About 2,329 kms of national highway roads in Bihar have been handed over to the state road construction department for maintenance and development, he said. The department has prepared a detailed project report (DPR) of 6 NH projects of 323 km length at a cost of Rs.13,015 crore and sent it to the centre (which includes the access road of Vikramshila bridge and Mashrakh Chakia-Bhithamor 4-lane widening etc," he addded. He also sought their prompt technical and financial approval....