Snapshot
CM Yogi Adityanath led government in Uttar Pradesh initiated Rs 36,200 crore Ganga Expressway to connect the eastern and western ends of the state.
UPEIDA targets to complete this 594 km long Expressway by 2025.
While IRB bagged group 1 of this project, Adani Enterprises Limited has won contracts to build the other three groups.
The 594 km long Ganga Expressway, which crisscrosses the state of Uttar Pradesh, has received environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forest.
The Ganga Expressway starts from NH-334 near the Bijauli village in the Meerut district and terminates at Prayagraj Bypass on NH-19 near Judapur Dandu village.
“Clearing and grubbing work has already begun. We have a deadline to finish the project in 36 months,” Avanish Awasthi, Chief Executive of Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), told Financial Express.
“The expressway will change the landscape of the eastern part of the state. It will act as an industrial corridor and connect far-flung production units and agricultural production centres to the national capital. By reducing the travel time from Meerut to Prayagraj, it would provide a huge impetus to the perishable agri products industry and also act as a catalyst for establishment of new industrial units, food processing units, dairy industry as well as small and medium units in the region,” he said.
With a target to complete the project by 2025, all the stakeholders are moving swiftly to achieve the target.
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.
This expressway reduces travel time between Delhi and Prayagraj by half from 10-11 hours to just 6-7 hours.
Also, 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 six-lane Ganga expressway will be built at over Rs 36,200 crore cost. The project has been divided into four groups to expedite work, each consisting of three packages.
While IRB bagged group 1 to be built with Rs 6,538 crore, Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL) has won contracts from UPEIDA to build three groups of the Ganga Expressway project in a deal worth Rs 17,085.16 crore.
Last month, IRB Infrastructure Developers achieved financial closure for Group 1. It comprises a 129.7-km six-lane greenfield expressway corridor between Meerut and Badaun.