Apco, Ashoka Buildcon, Gawar Construction,Dilip Buildcon To Execute UP’s Ambitious 296-km Bundelkhand Expressway

Uttar Pradesh government has selected four private infra majors, Apco Infratech, Ashoka Buildcon, Gawar Construction and Dilip Buildcon, to execute its ambitious 296-km Bundelkhand Expressway, Business Standard reported.

The nodal agency for the project, UP Expressway Development Authority (UPEIDA) selected the developers after the evaluation committee opened financial bids for the Bundelkhand Expressway.

To expedite the project, UPEIDA has divided it into six packages.

UPEIDA has already acquired more than 93% of the required 3,641 hectares for Expressway project.

The proposal for the formal award of contract to the selected developers would now be placed before the state cabinet for approvals.

The proposed Bundelkhand Expressway will start from Jhansi and pass through some of the most underdeveloped districts of the state like Chitrakoot, Banda, Hamirpur, Auraiya and Jalaun. From Jalaun, the expressway will pass through Etawah district and reach Naseempur via Bateshwar. The expressway will reduce the travel time between Delhi and Chitrakoot by almost eight hours.

Given that the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor is also envisaged to come up along Bundelkhand Expressway, the government wants to expedite the expressway construction as the twin projects are expected to provide a huge boost to the development in Bundelkhand. It is expected to ushering in faster socioeconomic development in the Bundelkhand and provide direct connectivity to central and western UP.

The Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor is aimed at establishing UP as one of the key defence manufacturing states in India. Aligarh, Agra, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow and Chitrakoot will comprise the six nodes of the proposed corridor.

For the 91-km Gorakhpur Link Expressway, the Uttar Pradesh government selected Apco Infratech and Dilip Buildcon. The link expressway will cover Gorakhpur, Sant Kabir Nagar, Ambedkar Nagar and Azamgarh districts. More than half the required land has been acquired for the project. The project will be execute in two packages.

The total cost of the two expressways project including the land acquisition is pegged at Rs 20,000 crore.