Mulayam lays foundation of 302 km Agra-Lucknow Expressway

Longest state-funded Expressway to cost Rs 15,000 crore

Ruling Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav today laid the foundation of the proposed 302 km Agra-Lucknow Expressway, which is estimated to cost nearly Rs 15,000 crore.

This is touted as the longest access-controlled expressway in India to be funded entirely by the state coffers.

Yadav laid the foundation, but not before summarily putting Uttar Pradesh chief minister and his son Akhilesh Yadav in a spot, when the former defence minister sought to know the date when it would be inaugurated, thereby implying its completion date.

The developers and UP Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) chairman and CEO Navneet Sehgal promised to complete the project within 22 months against the over 30 months it was initially projected to be completed.

About 7,000 acres or 85 percent of land required for the project had been acquired by the Authority spanning 10 districts, which would be intersected by it viz. Agra, Firozabad, Mainpuri, Etawah, Auraiya, Kannauj, Kanpur City, Unnao, Hardoi and Lucknow.

The contract for the mega project had been awarded to private developers after dividing it into five packages. PNC Infratech was awarded package 1 (Agra-Firozabad); Afcons Infrastructure for package 2 (Firozabad-Etawah); Nagarjuna Construction Company for package 3 (Etawah-Kannauj); Afcons Infrastructure for package 4 (Kannauj-Unnao); and L&T for package 5 (Unnao-Lucknow).

The government has planned to develop 4 agricultural 'mandis' along the expressway, which is projected to spur the regional 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.

Agra-Lucknow expressway is one of the flagship projects of the ruling Akhilesh government together with Lucknow Metro Rail project and Lucknow IT City. The foundations of all the three projects have been laid and the government expects the projects would be operational before the 2017 assembly polls.

In his address, the chief minister said roads were imperative for economic development, even as he reiterated his motto of: "double the speed, triple the economy."

The 6-lane expressway would be expandable to 8-lane. With top speed of 120 kmph, the commuters could cover the distance between Agra and Lucknow in less than 4 hrs.

Initially, the expressway was planned on public private partnership (PPP) model. But, it failed to garner investors due to economic slowdown. Subsequently, the government decided to adopt Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) route and fund the project through its own budget.

It would provide seamless travel between Lucknow and National Capital Region (NCR) via the functional Agra-Greater Noida Yamuna Expressway.

Now, the government is mulling extending the expressway beyond Lucknow to connect eastern UP. This would provide faster connectivity from eastern UP to the NCR.