Agra-Lucknow Expressway to be operational by Oct 2016

Rs 15,000 cr project would span 10 districts in Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh government is pushing for its flagship Agra-Lucknow Expressway to be operational by October 2016.

The proposed 302 km expressway is estimated to cost nearly Rs 15,000 crore. The contract for the mega project has already been awarded to private developers after dividing it into five packages and the work is on.

It is touted to be the longest access-controlled expressway in India to be funded entirely from the state coffers. It spans 10 districts, which would be intersected by it, namely Agra, Firozabad, Mainpuri, Etawah, Auraiya, Kannauj, Kanpur City, Unnao, Hardoi and Lucknow.

 

It is a pet project of chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, who is keenly pursuing it along with other flagship projects also underway such as IT City, Lucknow and Lucknow Metro Rail.

In a review meeting here today, UP chief secretary Alok Ranjan directed officials that the package-wise review be held on monthly basis, so that the expressway meets its project timelines and is operational by October 31, 2016.

The state has planned to develop agricultural 'mandis' along the expressway to spur the economy by providing faster transport to agricultural produce, handicrafts, small industries etc. This region is known for high dairy, potato, fruits and food grain production.

Meanwhile, Ranjan also reviewed other projects, including Centralised Mega Call Centre, IT City and Trans-Ganga projects in the meeting of Project Monitoring Group.

Ranjan expressed displeasure over the slow pace of work on IT City. He said the project should be functional by October 2016 under all circumstances. He directed the state environment department to issue No-objection Certificate (NoC) within a week.

The mega call centre is likely to be launched by November 2015. The Request for Proposal (RFP) tender for the call centre project is expected by the middle of June, which would be opened by July 15 and finalised by July 18, 2015.

He has summoned the progress report on the Trans-Ganga project in Unnao from the concerned officials on May 30.