UP Govt expedites ₹5,800-cr new expressway in Gorakhpur

The UP government has expedited the process of land acquisition for 91-km expressway project in Gorakhpur. The mega project crisscrossing four districts including Gorakhpur, Sant Kabir Nagar, Ambedkar Nagar and Azamgarh, involves an investment of ₹5,800 crore. The UP Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) has released ₹275 crore to speed up land acquisition for the project. UPEIDA CEO Awanish Kumar Awasthi informed that of the ₹275 crore, ₹50 crore, ₹153 crore and ₹52 crore would be paid to landowners in Gorakhpur, Ambedkar Nagar and Azamgarh districts respectively. The funds have been allocated to the respective district magistrates with the rider to settle land acquisition dues of farmers within a month so that the ongoing civil and other construction works on the expressway continues unabated. The link expressway was divided into two packages and awarded to Apco Infratech and Dilip Buildcon for development. Before that, Punjab National Bank had extended a credit of ₹750 crore for the expressway which will link the region with another mega expressway project underway, 340 km Purvanchal Expressway.