The Indian Cabinet has approved the construction of a new INR19.54bn ($292m) link road between Sahibganj bypass in the Jharkhand to Manihari bypass in Bihar.

The link road, which received approval from the Committee on Economic Affairs, will also include a four lane bridge over the river Ganga.

The project will include cost of land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities.

"The development of this stretch will also help in uplifting the socio-economic condition in the state and increase employment potential for local labourers for project activities."

As part of the project, the link road with a total length of about 22km will be developed.

The work will be carried out under the National Highways on Hybrid Annuity Mode.

The project’s concession period is 19 years including a construction period of four years.

The new road will be about 16km-long starting in Jharkhand to another 6km-long near Narenpur in Bihar.

Expediting the improvement of infrastructure in Bihar and Jharkhand, the project will also help in reducing the time and cost of travel for traffic in these two Indian states.

The development of this stretch will also help in uplifting the socio-economic condition in the state and increase employment potential for local labourers for project activities.

The project is expected to generate about 89,000 jobs during the construction period.

This project highway is a new formation of the missing link at NH-131A to NH-133B that connects Sahibganj and Manihari regions.