Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated 594-km long Access-Controlled Greenfield Ganga Expressway in Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh.
» Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi visited Uttar Pradesh on 28-29 April 2026.
- During his visit, the Prime Minister attended the Mahila Sammelan on 28 April, where he inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of various development projects worth approximately ₹6,350 crore in Varanasi.
- The Prime Minister inaugurated the Access-Controlled Greenfield Ganga Expressway in Hardoi on 29 April 2026.
About Access-Controlled Greenfield Ganga Expressway:
» Ganga Expressway is an important 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 ₹36,230 crore.
- 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.
Emergency Landing Facility:
» 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.
Economic Significance:
- 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 efficiency in transportation.
- The Ganga Expressway is envisioned as a major economic corridor, with the development of Integrated Manufacturing and Logistic 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.
- 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 opportunities across the region.
- 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 agriculture and rural incomes, generate employment, and drive holistic economic growth across the state.