By-: ShalabhUttar Pradesh has reported its biggest jump in infrastructure growth in nine years, backed by large-scale expansion of expressways, roads, airports, rail corridors and waterways. The state accounts for 55% of India’s expressway network, giving it a stronger position in freight and passenger movement. While several big-ticket projects have already been commissioned and benefiting the residents, many are in the final stages of completion. Jewar airport in Greater Noida will be inaugurated this week, while Ganga Expressway and Lucknow-Kanpur expressway could be unveiled over the next few weeks, improving the connectivity and accessibility of the state further. The Yogi govt is also working on improving the north-to-south connectivity to bring down travel time further: From the time BJP govt took over, UP has widened or strengthened more than 63,000km of roads and built 35,433km of rural roads to connect villages with major routes. On average, 19km of roads are being added in the state on a daily basis. “Through technology-based interventions and better monitoring, UP PWD has been able to increase its productivity over the past few years. The average construction pace of roads is going up consistently,” said principal secretary, PWD, Ajay Chauhan. From an average of 118 bridges that were constructed in a year between 2012 and 2017, the numbers have gone up to 197 over the past nine years. “From two expressways in UP that were available till 2017, vehicle owners would have the option of commuting via 12 such high-speed corridors in a few years,” said additional CEO, Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority, Shrihari Pratap Shahi. With 10 proposed expressways to become operational in the coming years, commuters would be able to plan their itinerary with a total of 22 expressways and 90 national highways, an infrastructure grid that is rare to develop. UP also hosts one of the largest railway networks in the country, covering over 16,000 km. It is the only state where the Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors intersect. UP also has 11 national waterways. The Varanasi-Haldia route includes a 425-km stretch within the state. Varanasi has the country’s first multimodal terminal and a 100-acre freight village, along with terminals at Ramnagar, Chandauli, Mirzapur and Ghazipur: Aviation network has expanded to 16 operational airports, including four international ones. “Benefits of the initiatives and works that are being carried out at the moment are going to be experienced in a complete manner in the next 20 to 25 years,” said former additional chief secretary Nitin Ramesh Gokarn.
