Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has instructed officials to complete Ganga Expressway linking Meerut with Prayagraj by December 2024.
The remarks came during a high-level meeting held on Sunday (18 June), where the Chief Minister reviewed the progress of under-construction and new expressway projects and the development of the industrial corridor and defense corridor in the state.
The construction of 594-km-long six-lane, access-controlled expressway, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh on 18 December 2021.
“The target should be to make this expressway available to the general public by December 2024, so that devotees from all over the country and the world can take advantage during Prayagraj Kumbh in 2025,” the Chief Minister said adding that an industrial cluster will be developed along the Ganga Expressway.
CM Yogi also directed the officials to decide on the location. He said that the land required for Ganga Expressway connecting Meerut to Prayagraj has been acquired.
The Kumbh mela unfolds at the confluence of the Ganga, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati river at the Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj. The Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj in 2025, will be much larger in scale and grandeur compared to what it was in 2019.
The Project
The Ganga Expressway starts from NH-334 near the Bijauli village in Meerut district and terminates at Prayagraj Bypass on NH-19 near Judapur Dandu village in Prayagraj.
Traversing through 12 districts — Meerut, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Amroha, Sambhal, Badaun, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Unnao, Rae Bareilly, Pratapgarh and Prayagraj — the expressway would connect the eastern and western parts of the state.
The state government has plans to extend the expressway at both ends — by 110 km from Meerut to Tigri on the Uttar Pradesh/Uttarakhand border and by 314 km from Prayagraj to Ballia, in the second phase of the project.
The dream project of the Chief Minister is being executed by Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA).
Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL), the flagship company of the Adani Group has been engaged for building 464-km long portion of the expressway from Badaun to Prayagraj, which comprises 80 per cent of the expressway.
Whereas, Meerut Badaun Expressway Private Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of IRB Infrastructure Developers Limited, is developing 22 per cent or 129.7 km of the Ganga Expressway from Badaun to Meerut.
Significance
Upon completion of work, the Ganga Expressway will become the longest expressway of Uttar Pradesh. The unique aspect of the expressway is that it will link other expressways in the state through Lucknow-Agra Expressway, Purvanchal Expressway and Ballia Link Expressway.
On becoming operational, the expressway is expected to reduce travel time between Delhi and Prayagraj from the current 10-11 hours, to just 6-7 hours.
A 3.5-km-long air strip for assisting emergency take-off and landing of Air Force planes will also be constructed on the expressway in Shahjahanpur.