$500 million ADB Loan to build India’s Longest River Bridge across Ganges near Patna

ADB has announced a loan of 500-million US dollar to build India's largest river bridge
Stretching a length of 9.8 km, the bridge will be take 4 years of construction and will be completed in December 2020 as scheduled
The bridge will benefit over nine million people, said the head of the project

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on June 24 gave nod to a 500-million US dollar loan for building India's largest river bridge across river Ganga near Patna in Bihar.

The bridge, with a proposed length of 9.8 km would ease traffic and provide transport links between north and south Bihar, as well as connect it with neighbouring Nepal.

According to the jagranjosh.com report, "the new bridge will make it easier for people to move between jobs and markets, particularly for poorer communities in the north wishing to travel to the state capital, Patna, just south of the river," said Dong Kyu Lee of ADB's South Asia Department, who is heading the project.

The bridge will facilitate a year-round embankment access road for the 250000 residents of the Raghopur Diyara island, who presently rely on boats and seasonal bridges to travel to Patna.

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River Ganga in Patna, Bihar. Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

The construction project, additionally funded by the Bihar Government with a support sum of 215 million US dollars, will run for 4 years with an expected date of completion in December 2020, said the jagranjosh.com report.

Using state-of-the-art engineering techniques, the project includes plans of building viaducts, toll service counters, national highway linkages and embankments. The dimensions of the bridge are so designed that the impact of it on the river will be most minimal. It will further be able to withstand climate stress and high rise of water levels.

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An additional sum of 900000 US dollars will be provided by the ADB for "technical assistance to improve bridge operation and management", said Lee.

Bihar, with a population of over 100 million is the third most populous state in India, but the poverty levels in the state are huge. About seven of the state's ten poorest districts are in the north. The bridge is hoped to be of great benefit to the inhabitants who can travel easily for better income opportunities.

The capacity of existing bridges are not enough to meet the demands of increasing number of workers and labourers who have to spend more time and money on a regular basis for better jobs. But with the upcoming river bridge, engineers and designers working on the project hope that the scenario will be very different.

"In all, the bridge is expected to benefit over nine million people," said Lee.

-By Maariyah Siddique, intern at NewsGram. Twitter: @MaariyahSid

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