PM Modi inaugurates Purvanchal Expressway

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will land on the Purvanchal Expressway in a C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft on Tuesday when he arrives to inaugurate the 340.8 km road, which will give a boost to the economic development of the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh, in the state?s Sultanpur district.

PM Modi tweeted on Monday to say that it will be ?a special day for Uttar Pradesh?s growth trajectory?. ?This project brings with it multiple benefits for UP?s economic and social progress,? the Prime Minister posted on Twitter along with four photographs of the Purvanchal Expressway.

The Purvanchal Expressway, which has been constructed at an estimated cost of about Rs 22,500 crore, will link the state capital of Lucknow with the eastern districts with links to major cities of Prayagraj and Varanasi. The expressway passes through nine districts including Lucknow, Barabanki, Amethi, Ayodhya, Sultanpur, Ambedkar Nagar, Aamgarh, Mau and Ghazipur. With the development of this expressway, the eastern region of the state would also be connected to the national capital of Delhi through the Agra-Lucknow and Yamuna Expressways.

The Uttar Pradesh government has said the Purvanchal Expressway is part of its plans to develop emergency landing facilities for fighter planes across the country. A 3.2 km stretch has been developed for allowing fighter aircraft to make emergency landings near the Sultanpur district.

Speaking during the India Construction Festival in Mumbai, Awanish Kumar Awasthi, CEO, Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), said "In Uttar Pradesh, despite Covid, we have gone forward with our construction projects. We have started movement on the Purvanchal Expressway, which is a Rs 220 billion project of about 341 km, despite two waves of COVID. The distance from Lucknow to Ghazipur of 341 km can now be covered in less than three-and-a-half hours. Further, 75% of work on the Bundelkhand Expressway project is completed and we hope to start the first vehicles on this road before January 2022. Again, we have been able to do this Rs 150 billion project in the original timelines despite Covid. We are also doing the 90-95 km Gorakhpur Link Expressway, linking Gorakhpur to Azamgarh, which we expect to start by March next year. So, we will have an ?express Pradesh? and we at UPEIDA will ensure that the vision of the honourable prime minister and honourable chief minister is actually executed on the ground. And Covid or no Covid, we have ensured that construction on the ground has succeeded."

Last week, Yogi Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh chief minister said that Purvanchal Expressway would be known as the backbone of the state?s economy. PM Narendra Modi will also address a public meeting after inaugurating the Purvanchal Expressway and witness an air show organised by the Indian Air Force (IAF). Along with C-130J Super Hercules, fighter aircraft including Rafale, Mirage, Jaguar, Sukhoi, Kiran Mk II and AN-32 are likely to participate in the 45-minute air show.

Officials have said that multiple landings and takeoffs would be done from the airstrip by IAF fighter jets which would be witnessed by the Prime Minister and other ministers.

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Also read : https://www.constructionworld.in/transport-infrastructure/highways-and-roads-infrastructure/purvanchal-expressway--linking-eastern-up-to-the-rest/28326 https://www.constructionworld.in/gold/policy-updates-and-economic-news/19th-construction-world-annual-awards/30845