UP To Build 600-Km Ganga Expressway

The Chief Minister Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government on January 29 gave its approval for the construction of the Ganga Expressway, a project which was first announced in 2007. The 600-km, six-lane expressway, which is aimed at providing fast road connectivity between western and eastern UP, is touted to be the world’s longest, once completed.

The Ganga Expressway will be connecting some of the prime urban cities with emerging rural areas of the state, including Meerut, Amroha, Bulandshahr, Budaun, Shahjahanpur, Kannauj, Unnao, Raebareli and Pratapgarh and Prayagraj. At Kannauj and Unnao, the corridor will intersect with the country’s longest Agra-Lucknow Expressway. Moreover, the complete stretch of the expressway is expected to connect Greater Noida to Ballia, providing direct connectivity between national capital Delhi and Varanasi.

This expansive project will cover 6,550 acre of land and will be constructed by the state government at a cost of Rs 36,000 crore. The expressway will also be equipped to act as an emergency airstrip, too.

The CM has also given an approval for building of a 91-km Purvanchal Expressway link road to Gorakhpur. The Purvanchal Expressway is a 343-kilometre highway that will connect state capital Lucknow with Ballia, passing through Barabanki, Sultanpur, Faizabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Azamgarh, Mau and Ghazipur, and would end at Haidaria. The project is estimated to be constructed at a cost of Rs 23,300 crore and will be completed by 2021.

Meanwhile, during the state Cabinet meeting held at Prayagraj, the government also gave an in-principle approval to the 296-km Bundelkhand Expressway. The expressway would connect Auraiya to Chitrakoot via Orai and would join the Agra-Lucknow Expressway near Etawah. The land acquisition for the project, which will cost the government Rs 8,864 crore, has already started. The project will be constructed on 3,641 hectare of land. The state government has already released Rs 640 crore for that purpose.