Union Health minister J P Nadda inaugurated the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology on the campus of Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) and also the institute's extended building here on Friday.

Nadda arrived on a two-day visit to Bihar on Friday. During his two-day visit to Bihar, the Union Health Minister will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of several health facilities in Patna, Muzaffarpur, Gaya, Darbhanga and Bhagalpur.

Accompanied by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, Bihar ministers Mangal Pandey and Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Nadda inaugurated the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology which has been constructed at a cost of around Rs 188 crore. According to health department officials, this institute is the biggest eye hospital in Eastern India with a trauma centre facility.

Nadda also laid the foundation stone of several health projects, including health sub-centre (HSC), additional primary health centre (APHC), health and wellness centre (HWC), community health centre, worth Rs 850 crore at the IGIMS.

Later in the day, the Union Health Minister will also inaugurate a government-operated super-speciality block at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital in Bhagalpur and another at Anugrah Narayan Magadh Medical College and Hospital in Gaya.

Nadda was earlier in the day welcomed by BJP workers at Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport in Patna. Bihar BJP president Dilip Jaiswal, both DyCMs and other BJP ministers in the state government received Nadda at the airport.

Shortly after his arrival at the airport, Nadda left for 1 Anne Marg, the official residence of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. It was a courtesy meeting between Kumar, JD(U) supremo and the BJP national president, said a senior state BJP leader.