Bihar revives abandoned Tajpur-Bakhtiyarpur bridge project over Ganga

The state government has decided to resume work on the long-awaited four-lane bridge over river Ganga, Bakhtiyarpur-Tajpur Mahasetu, which would connect national highway (NH)-28 in Samastipur and NH-31 in Patna by reviving the terminated contract with the concessionaire, Navayuga Janhvi toll bridge private limited (NJTBPL), officials familiar with the development said.

The state government has decided to resume work on the long-awaited four-lane bridge over river Ganga, Bakhtiyarpur-Tajpur Mahasetu, which would connect national highway (NH)-28 in Samastipur and NH-31 in Patna by reviving the terminated contract with the concessionaire, Navayuga Janhvi toll bridge private limited (NJTBPL), officials familiar with the development said.

The project was aimed at drastically reducing vehicular loads on Mahatma Gandhi Setu in Patna and Rajendra Setu in Mokama . (Ht Photo)

The Bihar State Road Development Corporation (BSRDC), which is supervising the project, will invest ₹936 crore as loan as one-time fund infusion to the concessionaire, apart from providing for the pre-decided viability gap funding of ₹585 crore, to revive the project.

The concessionaire had taken up the project, entailing construction of 5.58-km-long bridge and 45-km-long approach road, to be built at a cost of ₹1,603 crore, in November 2011 on private public partnership (PPP) mode.

The project was aimed at drastically reducing vehicular loads on Mahatma Gandhi Setu in Patna and Rajendra Setu in Mokama and work as another vital communication link between north and south Bihar.

BSRDC chief general manager Sanjay Kumar said the state cabinet on Monday approved the road construction department’s proposal to go for one-time fund infusion to complete the project. “A fresh contract would be signed with the concessionaire soon with a 30 months’ deadline to complete it,” said the CGM.

Officials said the project ran aground after the concessionaire and BSRDC got into a legal battle. The construction company had slapped a fine of ₹2,600 crore on the BSRDC, while the corporation had imposed a penalty of ₹1,700 crore for non-completion of project within the extended deadline by March 2020.

BSRDC officials, however, said the concessionaire had pulled out after its financial condition deteriorated. The bank had realized the bank guarantee and refused to extend loan to the company. As per the agreement, both NJTBPL and BSRDC terminated the contract in July last year, which ensued a legal fight in the Patna high court. The court later asked both the parties to work on a pragmatic solution to complete the project, which had already cost more than ₹750 crore.

Officials said that the fresh investment by the state government would be realized from the concessionaire under the state development loan from the toll collected by once the bridge becomes operational.