UP Cabinet clears Rs 17,542-cr plan for four link expressways

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet on Tuesday approved four link expressway projects spanning around 322 km at a combined cost of Rs 17,542.06 crore, with the state government set to bear the expenditure and the projects targeted for completion within three years.

Briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Finance and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna said, "the projects would be developed by the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) in the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode."

The four projects are -- Farrukhabad Link Expressway, in two packages covering around 90.90 km; a 50.94-km link expressway connecting the Agra-Lucknow Expressway with the Purvanchal Expressway; the Jhansi Link Expressway, in two packages spanning around 106 km; and the Jewar Link Expressway, in two packages covering around 74 km.


"The Cabinet has approved these four projects to be developed in the EPC mode. They are expected to be completed within three years," Khanna said.

He said the contractors would also be responsible for maintaining the expressways for five years after their completion.

Khanna said the projects were intended to strengthen connectivity across the state and support economic development by improving transportation infrastructure.

"The stronger the transportation system, the greater its impact on development," he said.

The proposed links are expected to improve connectivity between existing expressways and important destinations across Uttar Pradesh, including the Bundelkhand region and the Jewar airport area.