Lucknow
Looking to accelerate the robust expressways sector in Uttar Pradesh (UP), the Yogi Adityanath government is planning to invite global bids for the 628km Ganga Expressway project.
The mega project estimated to cost Rs 36,000 crore will entail the acquisition of 7,287 hectares of land across 12 districts, viz. Meerut, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Amroha, Sambhal, Budaun, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Unnao, Rae Bareli, Pratapgarh and Prayagraj (Allahabad).
According to the UP Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), more than 90 per cent or 6,612 hectares has already been acquired for Ganga Expressway, and the process to acquire the remaining swathes of land is underway.
Presiding over a review meeting here recently, UP chief secretary RK Tiwari directed officials to begin the bidding process for the mega project in earnest. The bidding process is likely to be started later this month. The project is said to be amongst the world’s longest access-controlled expressways once completed.
Initially, the UP government had envisioned Ganga Expressway under the public-private partnership (PPP) model. However, when the private sector showed inhibitions owing to the massive finances involved, the Yogi Adityanath dispensation decided to fund the project out of its own resources or borrowings and to invite bids for awarding the different packages of the proposed expressway to the successful bidders.
The Ganga Expressway is among the flagship projects of the Yogi government, one which will be highlighted for the purported pro-investment plank of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the run-up to the crucial 2022 state assembly elections. The government has been allocating funds in the successive state budgets for these frontline projects.
Meanwhile, the main carriageway of the under-construction Rs 23,000-crore Purvanchal Expressway project is expected to be completed by the end of this month. The civil works of another big project, Bundelkhand Expressway, are estimated to be completed by September 2021.
Due to the big infra projects, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier observed that UP had rightfully earned the sobriquet of ‘Express Pradesh’ owing to the rapid pace of projects, particularly expressways.
At present, four expressway projects, viz. 340km Purvanchal Expressway, 296km Bundelkhand Expressway, 91km Gorakhpur Link Expressway and 628km Ganga Expressway, with an estimated outlay of Rs 80,000 crore, are in various stages of development. The state has tied up with commercial banks to fund these projects.
(Virendra Singh Rawat is a Lucknow based financial and economic journalist)