Work on the Ghaziabad-Kanpur economic corridor is expected to gather steam as the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has reportedly asked for the Detailed Project Report (DPR) submission to be expedited, so that the project is approved and underway soon.

A meeting was held in this regard, following which, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has been asked to submit the DPR within three months.

The NHAI has targeted to submit the DPR by the end of May. After this, financial approval will be given by the Ministry for the expenditure on the project. This will include land acquisition and construction expenses.

Three Years And Counting

It was in September 2019 that Nitin Gadkari, Union Road Transport Minister had announced an economic corridor linking Ghaziabad with Kanpur. The idea was to cut travel time between the two industrial cities.

The project was approved by the Ministry on 5 July 2022. Subsequently, the NHAI started DPR work on Ghaziabad-Kanpur economic corridor with a with a 300-day completion deadline.

Alignment

The 380 km expressway will be a greenfield access-controlled economic corridor that will connect Ghaziabad to Kanpur.

Its northern terminal is expected to be located on NH-9 (Ghaziabad-Hapur highway) and its southern terminal between Kanpur-Unnao, on the upcoming 62.7 km Kanpur-Lucknow Expressway.

According to the alignment, the corridor will pass through nine districts- Ghaziabad, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Kasganj, Farrukhabad, Kannauj and Unnao and Kanpur.

According to the plan, the economic corridor will be a 4-lane road, and will be expanded to six lanes at underpasses and crossings of waterways.

Being constructed at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore, the Kanpur-Lucknow Expressway is a 62.74-km-long access-controlled road connecting Kanpur and Lucknow.

Significance

As of now, there are no routes connecting Kanpur and Ghaziabad. A drive on the Yamuna Expressway between Ghaziabad and Kanpur takes around six hours, while those travelling on NH-9 need at least eight hours.

Cutting through nine west Uttar Pradesh districts, the greenfield corridor is expected to bring down travel between the two cities to just three hours.

Also, with the construction of the road, an alternative route will be available to the people of western Uttar Pradesh to go to Lucknow and Kanpur.

Currently, those going to Lucknow use the Yamuna Expressway, but when the new expressway is built, they will be able to go to Lucknow via Kanpur as well.

Target 2025

According to NHAI officials, land acquisition will start in 2023 and will be completed within one year after the financial approval of the DPR proposal.

The NHAI aims to initiate the highway construction work after completion of 90 per cent land acquisition. The project is scheduled to be completed by 2025.