Bihta is a town and Block in Patna district, Bihar state, India. Bihta is part of Maner Assembly constituency and Pataliputra Lok Sabha constituency. It is located around west of Patna. Bihta is also an upcoming satellite town of Patna. It lies from Bihta railway station.
Geography
Bihta is west of Patna and is an hourlong drive from the capital. It is the strategic location named as greater Patna and many real estate companies are investing in the region. Bihta has a famous old temple named Van Devi at Kanchanpur Bihta, and a Shiv temple: Baba Biteshwar Nath in Gultera Bazar. There is 220/132/33 KV Power Grid substation in Dumri in Bihta, where commercial operation started in April 2019. There is a dry port south of the railway station and an oil depot, both with rail connectivity. A long four-lane elevated road connecting Bihta with Danapur and Shivala is being constructed at a cost of around ₹2,000 crore. This highway will be completed by 2022 and will connect Patna to Bihta Airport via the Danapur railway station and Shivala Chowk. Of its total 20 km length, would be elevated. The elevated portion will terminate at the junction of the Bihta-Sarmera Road near Kanhauli village. From that junction, the road will go up to the Bihta chowk besides connecting the Bihta Airport; it would again be elevated at the Bihta chowk. There are many hotels and shops.
Educational institutes
IIT Patna's campus is located within the parameters of Amhara and Dilawarpur villages in Bihta block, on a site. Bihar government had already allotted of land at Amhara village in Bihta to NIT Patna. There is Kendriya Vidyalaya, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar laid the foundation stone of an Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) medical college and hospital in Bihta in September 2009. The 500-bed ESIC hospital and college was built here on a plot here at a cost of 523 crore. The ESIC medical college and hospital was inaugurated on 7 July 2018.
Union minister Kapil Sibal on 3 June 2013 laid the foundation stone of the permanent campus of National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology (NIELIT) at Bihta.
International Airport
As air traffic grows and short runway issues arise at Patna airport, also known as the Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport, the central government has considered moving the facility outside Bihar's capital city to Bihta. According to senior government officials, negotiations are underway between the ministry of civil aviation and the air force to shift the airport from Patna to Bihta, which is a defence airfield 20 km away from the existing facility.
Bihta has one airforce base station. The length of the existing runway at Bihta airbase was . Airports Authority of India has planned to develop Bihta airport for international operations. Airport Authority had proposed of land to the state government, apart from which state government is to transfer, so that length of the runway could be increased to , in order to install an advanced category-II Instrument Landing System (ILS) at the new airport so that flights could land there at a visibility as low as . Boeing 747 require 12,000 feet of long runways to land.
In October 2016, Bihar cabinet approved the Patna master plan 2031 which envisions development of a new airport at Bihta. Bihar government is acquiring of land for construction of the new airport. Bihar cabinet approved a budget of ₹260 crore for the acquisition of 126 acres for Bihta airport which will be completed by October 2019. Of the 126 acres, in Vishambhar and in Kultupur localities have been acquired from approximately 400 land owners. An elevated expressway from Saguna Mor to Bihta is going to be constructed. Of the 126 acres of acquired land for Bihta airport, will be utilised for development of a civil enclave and the remaining 18 acres for development of amenities, including a VIP lounge, a hotel and a hangar.
An four-lane semi-elevated road between the proposed Bihta airbase and Danapur railway station is being constructed at the expenditure of 1400 crore. National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will construct 13.5 km elevated four-lane road from Bihta to Shivala, while the remaining 5 km stretch from Shivala to Danapur station will be constructed by Bihar RCD. Apart from Danapur-Shivala-Bihta road, Bihta will be connected by two more four-lane roads: Patna-Buxar NH-30 and Bihta-Sarmera SH-78.