Chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has reportedly approved the construction of the four-lane bridge over River Brahmaputra.

The cabinet has approved the construction of Dhurbi-Philbari bridge between Assam and Meghalaya, over the Brahmaputra river from Dhubri on North Bank and Phulbari on South Bank on NH-127 B. The length of the bridge is expected to be 19.282 km and on completion is expected to be the country’s longest road bridge, replacing the 9.15 km-long Bhupen Hazarika Setu.

The bridge is expected to be built under the scheme of North-East Road Network Connectivity Project Phase-03. Also, it is expected to get a loan assistance with JICA at the civil construction cost of Rs 35.48 billion. Reportedly, the total capital cost of is Rs 49.97 billion. It also includes the cost of Rs 556.8 million towards the cost of land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities. 

The Dhurbi-Philbari bridge has strategic and socio-economic importance. The projects is expected to benefit the most economically backward districts in the states of North East. That said, it is also expected to reduce the travel distance from the current 205.3 km to 19.282 km, thus saving time of five hours to 20 minutes between Dhubri in Assam and Phulbari in Meghalaya. 

Furthermore, this is expected to augment the transport network for the region by providing shortest links between Meghalaya to Assam on the western regions and Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura and the rest of the country, including the ports of Kolkata on the southern side.

The project is expected to be completed in a period of six years.