New Delhi, Aug 29 (IANS): Ahead of the the 2022 Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi Adityanath government's focus is on five major developmental projects related to roads and airways. Some of these projects will be completed before the elections, while works on others will continue even after the elections. The Uttar Pradesh government is regularly monitoring the progress of four major expressways, of which the work on three is underway, while the fourth one is yet to start.
These highways will connect each and every part of Uttar Pradesh to the capital Lucknow. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will soon lay the foundation stone of the proposed International Airport in Greater Noida's Jewar district. The completion of these development projects will provide a major boost for the BJP to pitch development as a poll plank in the state Assembly elections. Saffron party leaders hope that these development works will help the party win the Uttar Pradesh elections.
Purvanchal Expressway is being constructed for a length of nearly 400 km. After the completion, Lucknow, the state capital of Uttar Pradesh and the major districts of Purvanchal will be directly connected to Ghazipur. The construction work is almost complete and it is likely to be inaugurated in September-October this year. The foundation stone was laid by PM Modi in 2018, since then the construction is going on. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed to extend this expressway to Ballia district.
The second major project is 296-km long Bundelkhand Expressway from Chitrakoot to Etawah. The construction work is expected to be completed by April 2022. So far 67.29 per cent work has been completed. The construction of bridges along the Yamuna, Betwa and Ken rivers is already underway. This four-lane expressway can be converted into six-lane in future. One side of this expressway is set to be opened for traffic by the end of 2021 or in early 2022.
The third ambitious project is the Ganga Expressway which will connect western Uttar Pradesh with eastern part. The Uttar Pradesh government is going to start the construction from September 2021. The total length of this expressway will be 594 km. This expressway will connect Meerut to Prayagraj directly. The Uttar Pradesh government has already acquired more than 80 per cent of the land required for this project. PM Modi will lay the foundation stone before construction starts.
Gorakhpur Link Expressway is another ambitious project in the pipeline of the Uttar Pradesh government. The construction of Gorakhpur-Azamgarh Link Expressway is going on in full swing, which is expected to be completed by March 2022. Sources say that the Yogi government can launch this project before the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
The proposed International Airport at Jewar in Noida is on the priority list of both the Central and the Uttar Pradesh government. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has been regularly monitoring the development of this project in various review meetings. The project is delayed by a year due to Covid-19 pandemic. So far, only the work of constructing the boundary wall has started. A total of 1,334 hectare of land has been acquired for the first phase of Jewar International Airport after which the work will start on this project.
The Swiss company Zurich International AG has been given the contract for the construction of Jewar International Airport. Sources say Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone soon.