Patna, Sep 21: With Prime Minister Narendra Modi launching nine important highway projects in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has emphasised on the need to extend the Purvanchal Expressway from Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur to Buxar.

The Purvanchal Expressway connects Ghazipur district in Eastern Uttar Pradesh with state capital Lucknow.

Kumar said that the extension of the road for another 17 kilometres will help Bihar connect directly with New Delhi.

The Agra Lucknow Taj Expressway and the Greater Noida-Agra Yamuna expressway are already operational.

The extension of Purvanchal expressway will also boost trade and the agriculture sector, said the CM. "Transportation between Delhi and Bihar by road will become easier. We already have a good road between Buxar and Patna and the widening of four-lanes is underway," added Kumar.

Kumar also said that the announcement of nine highway projects will help enormously in the context of Bihar's development.

The proposal of four-lane road connectivity between Ara to Mohania will also help give another option for direct connectivity from Patna to Delhi.

Patna, the capital of Bihar, is one of the most congested cities in the country. Now, the Centre has proposed 39-km ring road comprising six lanes to ease pressure on roads inside the city.

Besides, the PM also laid down the foundation of a four-lane bridge parallel to the Mahatma Gandhi Setu between Patna and Hajipur, the Vikramshila Setu in Bhagalpur and the Kosi Mahasetu in Madhubani and Araria districts.

On the occasion, Union law and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said 6 lakh villages across the country will be connected through optical fibre.

"The idea is to provide high-speed internet connectivity to villages for overall development of the country," Prasad said.