UP govt identifies 3,000 hectare land for defence industrial corridor

The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today gave its approval to the state's UP Defence, Aerospace Unit and Employment Promotion Policy, 2018 while also paving the way for the construction of a defence industrial corridor, an official statement released here said.

In February, during the UP Investors Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that a Defence Industrial Corridor will be established.

In an official statement here today, a UP government spokesperson said, "The Defence Industrial Corridor has the potential to attract investment worth Rs 50,000 crore and create 2.5 lakh job avenues in the next five years. For the corridor, in Bundelkhand, almost 3,000 hectare land has been identified by UP Expressways Industrial Development Authority, and there acquisition is proposed."


The corridor would pass through six districts --- Aligarh, Agra, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow and Chitrakoot.

The state Cabinet also approved a proposal to seek loans from banks to the tune of Rs 12,000 crore for Purvanchal Expressway.

"PNB has been made the lead bank. We have already got the letter of approval amounting to Rs 7,800 crore from banks. We will get the loan for 15 years, and will be paid in 48 installments. Almost 93 per cent land acquisition has been done (except in Lucknow). Pillars have been put up at every 50 metres, and more than 11,800 pillars have been installed on the boundary of the expressway for identification purpose. The time-frame for construction is 36 months, but our efforts will be to construct this in 24-26 months," UPEIDA CEO Avnish Awasthi said.

To boost regional air connectivity in Aligarh, Moradabad, Azamgarh and Shravasti and development of airports, approval has been given to Public Works Department, the statement said.