PATNA, June 26 -- The state cabinet has given its nod to the road construction department (RCD) to adopt the hybrid annuity model (HAM) to execute the four-lane Digha-Koilwar corridor - the western extension of JP Ganga Pathway. Additional chief secretary, cabinet, S Siddharth told newspersons on Wednesday that the cabinet meeting, chaired by the chief minister Nitish Kumar has approved the proposal of the RCD to go for HAM system of executing the project. Earlier, the RCD and other works departments used to follow the engineering procurement and construction (EPC) mode to complete major construction projects. Under the EPC model, construction firms are deemed to finish the projects and hand them over to the government on payment of the entire project cost. Under the HAM mechanism, the construction companies are supposed to bear about 60% of the total expenses on the project, while the government would pay the rest 40% of the amount during the time of project execution. The state government will, however, pay the entire amount incurred by the construction companies (60% of the project cost) along with interest in the next 15 years. The construction firm is also supposed to operate and maintain the project during the period it gets its due from the government. Talking to reporters, RCD minister Nitin Nabin said that the department has begun the process of selecting a suitable bidder to build a four-lane Digha-Koilwar stretch of JP Ganga Path in the length of around 35km (costing around Rs.5,500 crore). "Construction firms are showing keen interest in the HAM-based projects and we hope that they would come forward to be part of the developed Bihar," said Nabin, adding that it would curtail the financial load of the government on major projects. Officials said that the new road, which would be built in both elevated and at grade mode, would provide a convenient way for the motorists to bypass the congested Patna town to go to Arrah from Patna City and vice-versa. The road will connect to the six-lane bridge on the river Sone at Koilwar. A senior RCD officer said that the Digha-Koilwar stretch, of which 18km would be elevated and 17.65km would be at grade level, would be built under the public private partnership (PPP) mode. "A similar system would be adopted in execution of major bridges, roads and expressways to be built in the state. The construction firms would be authorised to realise their invested sum along with the interest by collecting tolls from the vehicles," he added....