Khagaria Purnea Tender: NH-31 Four-Laning in Bihar (Rs 3,388 Cr)

NHAI has invited bids worth ₹3,388.40 crore to widen the Khagaria to Purnea section of NH-31 and NH-231 in Bihar to four lanes with paved shoulders, and bidding closes on 15 September 2026.

The stretch runs from design chainage 270.000 at Khagaria to 413.529 near Purnea, which works out to roughly 143 kilometres across north-east Bihar. This is an upgrade of a road that already carries traffic, not a new alignment, and that changes the job considerably.

The stretch and the scope

Widening a live national highway means building beside and around moving traffic. The existing carriageway stays in use while the new lanes and paved shoulders go in, so the work is sequenced in stretches with diversions rather than run as one continuous front. NH-31 through Khagaria, Naugachia and Purnea is a busy freight route, which makes traffic management a real cost line rather than a formality.

The contract is an item rate award through NHAI’s Begusarai project implementation unit. One corrigendum has already been issued, so read the current notice before pricing.

Who this suits

At ₹3,388 crore with bid security of ₹33.88 crore, the main contract belongs to established highway contractors with four-laning experience on live corridors. That last part matters: NHAI weighs comparable work, and building next to running traffic is a different qualification from greenfield construction.

Bihar contractors and machine owners have a clearer route in here than on a greenfield package. Widening jobs of this length break into structure work, drainage, service roads and the shoulder and embankment stretches, and much of that gets sublet locally around Khagaria, Naugachia, Katihar and Purnea.

Equipment on a 143 kilometre four-laning

The embankment and shoulder work drives most of the fleet. Excavators handle borrow and drain cutting, tippers keep granular material moving over long lead distances, and soil compactors plus tandem rollers do the layer work that decides how the widened section behaves under load. Motor graders trim the formation and the shoulder profile. Backhoe loaders end up doing the awkward jobs that a widening throws up constantly, such as culvert extensions, side drains and utility shifting. Concrete plant and cranes come in for the structures. Because traffic keeps running, contractors tend to hold smaller, more mobile fleets that can pack up and shift between diversions.

Key facts

How to apply

1. Open the official portal: Central Public Procurement Portal.
2. Search by tender ID 2026_NHAI_280981_1 (reference no. BRDIV 20014/45/2025 PIU Begusarai/E 288481) under the National Highways Authority of India.
3. Register on the portal and keep a valid Class III digital signature certificate ready.
4. Download the NIT, tender document and BOQ, then check the eligibility criteria and the corrigendum before you price the item rates.
5. Submit your bid online before 15 September 2026.

More on DesiMachines

Purnea is busy at the moment. The Purnia airport terminal building tender is open in the same district, and two other Bihar road jobs are taking bids: the Arwal bypass four-lane tender and the NH-333A bypasses package. There are more live tenders in Bihar, and all live tenders are listed by closing date.

If you are sizing a fleet for subcontract work on this corridor, our excavator, compactor and backhoe loader pages cover what widening contractors actually buy, and equipment finance explains the loan and lease options.

FAQ

Tender details are summarised for convenience and may change. Always verify the latest dates, terms and documents on the official tendering portal before bidding. DesiMachines is not responsible for changes made by the issuing authority.