Varanasi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will offer prayers at the Shri Kashi Vishawanath temple in Varanasi on Wednesday before heading to Hardoi for inaugurating the 594-kilometre Ganga Expressway built for Rs 36,230 crore, an official said.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to perform darshan and pooja at the Shri Kashi Vishwanath temple at around 8.30 am. Thereafter, he will travel to Hardoi and, at around 11.30 am, inaugurate the Ganga Expressway and address a gathering, said an official statement.
The inauguration of the Ganga Expressway will mark a significant milestone in the development of world-class infrastructure in the country.
The Ganga Expressway is a 594-kilometre-long, 6-lane (expandable to 8 lanes) access-controlled greenfield high-speed corridor, built at a total cost of around Rs 36,230 crore, according to an official statement.
The expressway traverses 12 districts – Meerut, Bulandshahr, Hapur, Amroha, Sambhal, Badaun, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Unnao, Raebareli, Pratapgarh, and Prayagraj-thereby connecting Western, Central, and Eastern regions of Uttar Pradesh through a single seamless high-speed corridor.
The project is expected to significantly reduce travel time between Meerut and Prayagraj from the current 10-12 hours to approximately 6 hours, enhancing ease of movement and transportation efficiency, said the statement.
A key highlight of the project is the provision of a 3.5 km-long Emergency Landing Facility (airstrip) in Shahjahanpur district. This dual-use infrastructure enhances national security preparedness and adds strategic value beyond economic benefits, it said.
The Ganga Expressway is envisioned as a major economic corridor, with the development of Integrated Manufacturing and Logistics Corridors over approximately 2,635 hectares across the 12 districts along its alignment.
The expressway will reduce logistics costs, improve supply chain efficiency, and boost manufacturing competitiveness, the statement said.
Improved connectivity will provide farmers with direct access to urban and export markets, facilitating better price realisation and strengthening rural incomes.
The project is also expected to boost tourism, unlock new economic opportunities, and generate direct and indirect employment across the region, the statement said.
The Ganga Expressway will also serve as a backbone for a broader expressway network in the state, with several link corridors either operational or planned, including the Agra–Lucknow Expressway, Jewar Link Expressway, Farrukhabad Link Expressway, and the proposed extension from Meerut to Haridwar.
This emerging expressway grid will expand high-speed road connectivity across Uttar Pradesh from East to West and from North to South, enabling balanced regional development.
The Ganga Expressway is not merely a transportation project but a transformative initiative that will reduce logistics costs, attract industrial investment, boost agricultural and rural incomes, generate employment, and drive holistic economic growth across the state, the statement said.
(IANS)
