In Pictures: Fast-Tracked By Yogi Government, Work On Purvanchal Expressway Progresses In Full Swing

After the Yogi Adityanath-led Bharatiya Janata Party government in Uttar Pradesh fast-tracked the construction of the Purvanchal Expressway, work on the project has been progressing in full swing in different parts of the state.

The Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) has put out some pictures showing the progress made in the last few months.

When the expressway is ready, the travel time between Lucknow and Ghazipur will come down to around five hours, reports say.

“The proposed Purvanchal Expressway getting connected with Agra-Lucknow Expressway shall become a vast Industrial Corridor connecting Eastern boundary to Western boundary of the state which will result into overall development of the state,” UPEIDA, the nodal agency for this project, has said in the past.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is holding a massive rally and a roadshow in Varanasi today, had laid the foundation of the expressway in May 2018.

The project is being completed under the engineering, procurement and construction model. UPEIDA has divided the project into eight packages. Three firms—Gayatri Projects Limited, GR Infraprojects and PNC Infratech Limited—have already been awarded two packages each while Apco Infra Private Limited and Oriental Structural Engineering have been awarded one package each.

“The last time the bids were almost 10.97 per cent overpriced because construction companies joined hands and worked as a cartel. The UPEIDA was able to break the cartel, and new bids are almost 10 per cent less which will save around Rs 600 crore,” a senior UPEIDA official has been quoted as saying.