Governor mentions development of highways, expressways, airports, and Defence Corridor during her address

Lucknow : Governor Anandiben Patel, in her address to mark the commencement of the Budget session of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, highlighted the state’s progress in connectivity, calling Uttar Pradesh the ‘Expressway State’ of India.

She noted the operational Yamuna, Agra-Lucknow, Purvanchal, and Bundelkhand Expressways, along with the under-construction Ganga and Gorakhpur Link Expressways. Uttar Pradesh now boasts the highest share of the nation’s expressway network, she stated.

The Governor shared details of ongoing projects, including the Chitrakoot Link Expressway, the connector linking Agra-Lucknow and Purvanchal Expressways, the Bundelkhand-Agra-Lucknow link via Farrukhabad, the Ganga Expressway, and the Jewar Airport Link Expressway.

The Governor announced plans to build new expressways to enhance state connectivity and reduce logistics costs. These include the 320 km Vindhya Expressway (Prayagraj-Mirzapur-Varanasi-Chandauli-Sonbhadra) and a spur linking the Purvanchal Expressway to Ghazipur via Chandauli. Additionally, an expressway will connect the Bundelkhand Expressway from Chitrakoot to Prayagraj via Rewa, and another will link the Ganga Expressway from Meerut to Haridwar.

The Governor highlighted key developments in the UP Defence Industrial Corridor, including Bharat Dynamics Limited in Jhansi, Adani Defence System and Technology in Kanpur, Anchor Research Labs in Aligarh, and DRDO BrahMos Aerospace in Lucknow, with a potential investment of around Rs 9,500 crores. She also mentioned the creation of a semiconductor park, data center park, and electronics system design and manufacturing cluster in the Yamuna Expressway Authority area.

Giving information about other major upcoming projects, she said that the Greater Noida investment region also includes sector-specific parks like Aviation Hub, MRO-Cargo Complex, Integrated Manufacturing Cluster in Agra and Prayagraj, Plastic Park in Gorakhpur, Chemical and Pharma Park in Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Kanpur Nagar, Gorakhpur, and Hapur.

The Governor highlighted significant growth in the aviation sector as well, noting that before 2017, Uttar Pradesh had only four operational airports—Lucknow, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, and Agra. Since then, the number has risen to 16. She shared that international airports in Kushinagar and Ayodhya are now operational, and with the soon-to-be-launched world-class international airport in Jewar, the state will have five international airports.