The Uttar Pradesh cabinet has given nod for the proposed Ballia Link Expressway project which is estimated to cost Rs 1,600 crore.
The project will link Ballia district on the Uttar Pradesh-Bihar border with the under-construction Purvanchal Expressway, which is aimed at connecting the eastern Uttar Pradesh region with central Uttar Pradesh at Lucknow, and via Agra-Lucknow Expressway and Greater Noida-Agra Expressway with the National Capital Region (NCR).
The state government has given its nod for preparing the detailed project report (DPR). The four-lane expressway, expected to be 35-40 km long, is likely to cost around Rs 40 crore per km, thus entailing maximum investment of Rs 1,600 crore.
As per the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), the Ballia Link Expressway will provide seamless road connectivity from NCR to the Uttar Pradesh-Bihar border areas and give impetus to trade and socio-economic development.
The 353 km Purvanchal Expressway, estimated to cost Rs 23,000 crore, will cut across Lucknow, Barabanki, Faizabad, Ambedkarnagar, Amethi, Sultanpur, Azamgarh, Mau and Ghazipur.
On 11 November 2019, the government had sanctioned two other expressway projects with a cumulative investment of more than Rs 14,500 crore in Bundelkhand and Eastern Uttar Pradesh regions. These two projects include the 296 km Bundelkhand Expressway and the 91 km Gorakhpur Link Expressway, estimated to cost Rs 9,921 crore (including land cost of Rs 2,202 crore) and Rs 4,587 crore (including land cost of Rs 1,564 crore) respectively.
While these two projects are estimated to be completed in 36 months each, the concessionaires will be paid five percent incentive of the contracted amount, if they complete the project in 30 months. Bundelkhand and Gorakhpur Link expressways have been divided into six and two packages respectively for their speedier completion.
