Prime Minister launches ₹36,200-cr Ganga expressway in UP

The Prime Minister has laid the foundation stone of the 594-km long Ganga Expressway project in Shahjahanpur district in Uttar Pradesh. The expressway, which involved ₹36,200 crore investment, will be one of the longest expressways in the country crisscrossing twelve districts connecting western and eastern parts of the state. The expressway will spread across Meerut, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Amroha, Sambhal, Badaun, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Unnao, Rae Bareli, Pratapgarh and Prayagraj districts and starts from Bijauli village in Meerut and ends near Prayagraj’s Judapur Dandu. The six lanes, which are being built in the first phase of construction, will be expandable up to eight lanes. The expressway will go through 140 rivers and water bodies. The project has been undertaken by the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), which has roped in IRB Infrastructure Developers for the construction of the mega project and the road builder has already received a letter of award from the UPEIDA for developing the Group 1 of Ganga Expressway greenfield project. The company will develop the 129.7-km stretch from Meerut to Badaun under Phase-1 of the four phases of the project, with a cost outlay of ₹6,555 crore, and the state government also plans to build a 3.5-kilometer airstrip in Shahjahanpur district, to assist emergency take-offs and landing of Indian Air Force planes. At some places, helipads will also be developed for emergency landings and the operation of air ambulances. An industrial corridor with various clusters and public facilities, including a trauma center, would also come up along the expressway.