Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the government is planning to spend ₹2 lakh crore in improving highways in Uttar Pradesh in three years.

“We will complete spending the earlier promised ₹2 lakh crore over the next one year on various highway projects in Uttar Pradesh, after that, we have made a plan to spend another ₹2 lakh crore over next three years,” Gadkari said as he laid the foundation for several new projects in Uttar Pradesh, and dedicated several highway projects in Uttar Pradesh to the nation.

Listing the progress on a slew of ongoing projects here, the minister also sought cooperation from the State to acquire land and get utility clearances. He also sought cooperation from the state in dealing with some encroachment that has prevented work from getting started on Varanasi multi-modal station.

Gadkari said that the ministry will build the connectivity to the upcoming Jewar airport. “We will spend in building highway connectivity to the planned Jewar airport…make the land available to us,” he said.

Indicating that the State could extend cooperation in other areas also, he said that UP charges 5 per cent for shifting utilities while other states charge 2.5 per cent (of detailed project report cost) for shifting utilities.

Sharing plans on proposed expressway projects, Gadkari said that he would share the alignment with the State government in advance so that the government can acquire land parcels along the highways and use them for building logistics parks, among others. Etawah to Mumbai can be covered in 16 hours straight when another expressway covering the Chambal area is completed, he added.

“Work will start on a six-lane road bridge on the river Ganga in Prayagraj – parallel to the existing bridge – to be built with a cost of ₹2,000 crore,” said Gadkari adding that providing for a capsule lift and a viewing space atop the bridge from where Prayagraj can be viewed can turn it into a tourism spot.

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