UP fixes funds for ₹36,000-cr Ganga Expressway

The state government in UP has planned to generate ₹2,900 crore from the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (Hudco) for the construction of 628-km Ganga Expressway project involving an investment of ₹36,000 crore. This loan amount would be utilized towards land acquisition for the mega infrastructure project by the nodal agency UP Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA). A decision to this effect was taken in a meeting of UPEIDA chaired by its CEO and UP additional chief secretary Awanish Kumar Awasthi. Ganga Expressway will involve 6,556 hectares of land acquisition across Meerut, Amroha, Bulandshahar, Badaun, Shahjahanpur, Farrukhabad, Hardoi, Kannauj, Unnao, Rae Bareli, Pratagarh and Prayagraj districts. The UPEIDA board cleared the proposal of raising loans worth ₹5,900 crore for Bundelkhand Expressway from a consortium of banks led by the Bank of Baroda and comprising the Union Bank of India, Indian Bank, Bank of Maharashtra and Uco Bank. The Bundelkhand Expressway, which involves an investment of approximately ₹15,000 crore, will link Chitrakoot, Banda, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Auraiya and Etawah districts. The state had last year awarded six packages of the expressway to the selected bidders, including Apco Infratech, Ashoka Buildcon, Gawar Construction and Dilip Buildcon.