Uttar Pradesh has envisaged seven new expressways to foster economic development and achieve its ambitious $trillion economy target.
UP, which earned the moniker of ‘Expressway Pradesh’ owing to the large number of expressways crisscrossing its lenght and breadth, will invest almost Rs 50,000 crore on new expressway projects.
Currently, five expressway projects are operational in UP viz. Yamuna Expressway (165 km), Agra Lucknow Expressway (302 km), Purvanchal Expressway (340 km), Bundelkhand Expressway (296 km) and Gorakhpur Link Expressway (91 km).
Another expressway project, 594-km Ganga Expressway from Prayagraj to Meerut is in the final stages of completion and expected to be ready by April 2025.
Meanwhile, the new expressway projects would be undertaken by UP Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA).
These projects include Chitrakoot Link Expressway (120 km), Jhansi Link Expressway (100 km), Jewar Link Expressway (76 km), Vindhya Expressway (320 km), Vindhya Purvanchal Link Expressway (100 km), Agra Lucknow Expressway-Purvanchal Expressway Link Expressway (60 km), and Agra Lucknow Expressway-Ganga Expressway Link Expressway (90 km).
The Yogi Adityanath cabinet recently approved these mega projects to fuel socioeconomic growth in the state.
Once the proposed seven expressways are operational, the total length of expressways, including operational, under-construction and proposed, in UP would burgeon to more than 2,650 km, the largest in India.
Moreover, the Yogi government will develop two new development enclaves namely Prayagraj-Chitrakoot Development Region and Varanasi-Vindhya Development Region to transform these regions into global hubs of religious, cultural and heritage tourism.