Ganga Expressway is an under-construction, 1047 km long, of which 594 km has been approved, 6-lane (easily widenable to 8) wide greenfield expressway in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is being constructed in two phases. Phase-1 will connect Bijauli village on NH-334 in Meerut district with Judapur Dandu village on NH-19 in Prayagraj district via Sarai Katiyan village on NH-27 in Unnao, while Phase-2 will see the extension of both sides of the expressway: from Prayagraj to Ballia and from Meerut to Haridwar. After the completion of both phases, Unnao will serve as a major node for economic and industrial activity, as it will be the central point of the expressway, with many projects planned in the Agra-Lucknow Expressway and Awadh Expressway region. It is being implemented by the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) on the Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Transfer (DBFOT) Model. The foundation stone of the expressway was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 18 December 2021, in Shahjahanpur. The expressway is expected to be completed by the end of 2024. The construction work from Meerut to Prayagraj has been divided into 12 packages. Packages 1 to 3 will be constructed and maintained by IRB Infrastructure, while Packages 4 to 12 by Adani Enterprises. The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet, led by Yogi Adityanath met at Prayagraj, the venue of the Kumbh Mela, and cleared the decks to construct Ganga Expressway on 29 January 2019.

Route

Phase-1

The 594 km long Ganga Expressway will connect Bijauli village near Kharkhauda on NH-334 in Meerut district with Judapur Dandu village near Soraon on NH-19 in Prayagraj district. It will pass through 12 cities of Uttar Pradesh namely (from west to east), Meerut, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Amroha, Sambhal, Budaun, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Unnao, Raebareli, Pratapgarh and Prayagraj.

Phase-2

The total length of Phase-2 is 453 km. The Government of Uttar Pradesh decided to extend the project on either ends i.e. Meerut to Haridwar (Spur-1) and Prayagraj to Ballia (Spur-2) via Varanasi. As of February 2021, a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for Phase-2 has not yet been prepared yet. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced to extend the expressway to Haridwar via Nagina on 20 December 2023.

History

The project aims to construct a 1,047 km access-controlled 8-lane wide expressway running along the Ganga river. This expressway will connect Greater Noida to Ballia, ensuring high-speed connectivity between the Eastern and Western boundaries of Uttar Pradesh. The proposed expressway from Ballia to Greater Noida is also planned to serve as a flood control embankment since floods are a major cause of agricultural and environmental damage in the area, and lead to many deaths as well as the spread of diseases during India's monsoon season. The construction work on Ganga Expressway was not started then because of an order from the Allahabad High Court. The order instructed that the state and the concessionaire complete a full environmental study and obtain permission from the Government before embarking on the construction.

Construction

Phase-1

The UPEIDA has divided the construction work of 594 km long Phase-1 (Meerut to Prayagraj) into 12 different packages. The total expected project value is around ₹37,350 crores, including the land acquisition cost of around ₹9,500 crores. On 30 November 2021, Adani Enterprises and IRB Infrastructure Developers emerged as the preferred bidders for the expressway’s development. Both were awarded the agreement to build and Operate the Expressway on DBFOT basis with tolling rights for a period of 30 years. IRB Infrastructure bagged Group 1 (consisting of Packages 1, 2 & 3); while Adani bagged Groups 2, 3 & 4 (consisting of Packages 4 to 12) The list of contractors is as follows: Note: The Adani Enterprises has further sub-contracted the civil construction work of Package-4, 5 and 6 to HG Infra Engineering Limited. It has sub-contracted Package-7, 8 and 9 to Patel Infra Projects Limited and similarly it has sub-contracted Package-10, 11 and 12 to ITD Cementation India Limited.

Industrial corridor

Pharma parks, textile parks will be developed around Ganga Expressway. There is also a preparation to build large industrial corridors at the beginning and end of the expressway. Due to its proximity to the expressway, many investors are expected to set up their industries here. The land around the departure points of Meerut, from where the expressway is to start, will be developed for industries. Ashok Agarwal, national president, Indian Industries Association (IIA), said “We have also received queries related to the allotment of land along the Ganga Expressway from investors. Most of the queries are for land in Meerut,Prayagraj and Unnao and its adjoining areas”. Industries are also expected around Baduan, Varanasi and Prayagraj.

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