In a bid to improve connectivity to the interior regions of Uttar Pradesh, the Ganga Expressway was conceived as an aspirational project. To be built in two phases, this will be one of the longest expressways when completed. The 602-km Ganga Expressway route will pass through a number of districts between Meerut and Prayagraj, via Varanasi.
The UP government has asked developers of the expressway project to complete the work by December 2024 so that it can be operational before the 2025 Prayagraj Maha Kumbh Mela. The project was expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
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According to reports, the Ganga Expressway project will be constructed at a cost of Rs 36,000 crores and would require 6,556 hectares of land. This expressway would also serve as an emergency airstrip.
On September 2, 2021, the state cabinet gave its nod for the Ganga Expressway, a greenfield, six-lane expressway project.
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According to the government spokesperson and minister for MSMEs, Siddharth Nath Singh, the project will be implemented based on develop, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) under the public-private partnership model. The minister said that the network of expressway projects in Uttar Pradesh would play a huge role in making the state a trillion-dollar economy. With plans to develop industrial clusters along the expressway route, the region is expected to see significant growth in real estate.
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Ganga Expressway route
| Ganga Expressway Phase 1 | Ganga Expressway Phase 2 (400 km additional extension) |
| Meerut | Prayagraj |
| Amroha | Varanasi |
| Bulandshahr | Baliia |
| Budaun | |
| Shahjahanpur | |
| Kannauj | |
| Unnao | |
| Rae Bareli | |
| Pratapgarh | |
| Prayagraj |
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As per a statement by the Uttar Pradesh government on December 14, 2021, more than half of the ganga express way will pass through western UP areas such as Meerut, Hapur, Amroha, Bulandshahr, Sambhal, Budaun and Shahjahanpur districts. The Ganga express highway will connect Eastern UP with western UP and the National Capital Region (NCR).
The 602-km expressway will be constructed in two phases. Starting near Bijauli village in Meerut connecting up to Judapur Dandu village in Prayagraj, the Ganga Expressway will cover many districts, through major cities and villages, mentioned in the list above. The Ganga expressway village list includes 519 villages. The Ganga expressway district list comprises 12 districts in total.
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Ganga Expressway will link Garhmukteshwar of Hapur through Martyrs Memorial in Meerut. The next intersection will be at Bulandshahr, where a proposed industrial corridor is being developed. The Ganga expressway will then pass through Amroha known for the popular Vasudev temple. Further, it will connect Sambhal, where Kailadevi temple is located. The expressway corridor will then connect Badaun and be linked with the industrial corridor and Hanumant Dham.
The National Highways Authority of India has planned to link the Delhi-Meerut Expressway arm with the Ganga Expressway. It will branch out near Modi Nagar at Zainuddinpur village from Dasna-Meerut section of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway project. This will be a 14-km section, which will give direct access to travellers moving from western to eastern UP.
Ganga expressway Phase 1
The phase 1 project of the Ganga Expressway has been divided into 12 different packages. The phase 1 corridor is being developed at a total cost of Rs 37,350 crore, including the land acquisition cost of over Rs 9500 crore.
- Bijauli (Meerut) to Chandner (Hapur): 48.9 km
- Chandner (Hapur) to Mirzapur Dungal (Amroha): 30 km
- Mirzapur Dungal (Amroha) to Nagla Baraha (Budaun): 50.7 km
- Nagla Baraha (Budaun) to Binawar (Budaun): 52.1 km
- Binawar (Budaun)to Dari Gulau (Shahjahanpur): 46.7 km
- Dari Gulau (Shahjahanpur) to Ubariya Khurd (Hardoi): 52.9 km
- Ubariya Khurd (Hardoi) to Iksai (Hardoi): 52.4 km
- Iksai (Hardoi) to Raiya Mao (Unnao): 50.2 km
- Raiya Mao (Unnao) to Sarson (Unnao): 53.1 km
- Sarson (Unnao) to Terukha (Raebareli): 51.8 km
- Terukha (Raebareli) to Naudhiya (Pratapgarh): 52 km
- Naudhiya (Pratapgarh) to Judapur Dandu (Prayagraj District): 53 km
Ganga expressway Phase 2
Under Phase II, the route of expressway will also stretch towards Tigri near Garhmukteshwar to the Uttarakhand border near Haridwar.
Ganga Expressway route map
Check the Ganga Expressway route map 2021, from Meerut to Prayagraj, that shows village details and other locations the project will cover.
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Ganga Expressway project: Features and details
Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the 600-km, six-lane Ganga Expressway on December 18, 2021. The Ganga Expressway is a greenfield, six-lane expressway project is being developed by the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), an authority set up by the Uttar Pradesh government to develop expressway projects across the state. The ganga express highway will cover 12 districts in the state of Uttar Pradesh and link 519 villages. The project will have an airstrip in Shahjahanpur for emergency landings and industrial clusters along the route and public utilities at nine places.
The expressway will be expandable to an eight-lane expressway, with a maximum speed limit of 120 kms per hour for vehicles. A 1-km bridge has been proposed along the expressway over river Ganga and another 720-metre bridge over river Ramganga. There will be a total of nine public convenience centres, 381 underpasses, 14 major bridges, 126 minor bridges, 929 culverts, 7 ROBs, 28 flyovers and 8 diamond interchanges along the expressway. Railway overbridges will have a width of 120 metre.
The right of way (ROW) has been proposed at 120 metre with a 3.75 m service road on one side of the expressway for local traffic.
Two main toll plazas will be set up in Meerut and Prayagraj and there will be 15 ramp toll plazas along the Ganga Expressway route. About 18,55,000 saplings will be planted along the Ganga expressway route for environmental protection. Solar power will be utilised for producing energy on the land acquired for the project.
The state has permitted the usage of fly ash to overcome the shortage of soil in construction. This will help cut carbon footprint and provide environmentally amenable disposal while ensuring faster completion of the project.
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, recently said that industrial clusters, an airstrip, helipads for emergency landings and operation of air-ambulances, public facilities like trauma centre will be come up along the route of Ganga expressway. He also said that around 96 per cent of the total required 7,386 hectares of land of 518 gram panchayats had been acquired for the Ganga expressway project.
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Ganga Expressway: Project cost
The Ganga Expressway project will be developed at a cost of around Rs 36,230 crores. It will be implemented in four groups (each having three packages). The cost of the civil works is estimated to be Rs 22,125 crores while Rs 9,255 crores has been estimated for buying the land.
The UP government has announced the budget outlay for key infrastructural projects with an allocation of Rs 2057.76 crore for the Ganga Expressway during the annual Budget for 2024-25 presented on February 5, 2024.
A 30-year agreement has been signed for the project to be developed on the PPP (Public-private partnership) model.
Gautam Adani-led Adani Group will develop nearly 80 per cent of the Ganga expressway project covering 464 km section from Budaun in the western part of the state to Prayagraj in the eastern part. IRB Infrastructure Developers Limited will build the 129.7 km section from Meerut to Badaun.
Adani Enterprises Ltd has secured finances of Rs 10,238 crore from lenders, and the concession period of the project will be 30 years with traffic link extension provision of six years, including three-years construction period.
Budaun Hardoi Road Private Ltd (BHRPL), Hardoi Unnao Road Private Ltd (HURPL) and Unnao Prayagraj Road Private Ltd (UPRPL), the wholly-owned subsidiaries of Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL), have achieved financial closure for the Ganga Expressway Project (Group-II, III and IV) in Uttar Pradesh, respectively on DBFOT (toll) basis under PPP mode, the company said in an official statement.
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Ganga Expressway: Timeline
| Dates | Event |
| January 2019 | Ganga Expressway project revived. |
| September 2019 | Alignments prepared. Consultant appointed to prepare detailed project report. |
| February 2020 | Rs 2,000 crores allocated for the construction of the expressway. |
| March 2021 | Land acquisition begins for the first phase of the Ganga express highway project. |
| December 2021 | PM laid the foundation stone of the Ganga expressway |
| June 2025 | Phase I of the expressway to become operational. |
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Ganga Expressway land acquisition
As per the official statement by the UP government on December 14, 2021, around 94% of land has been purchased from 82,720 farmers for the Ganga express highway in one year, despite the challenges of COVID-19 pandemic. Around 7386 hectares of land is required for the express way project wherein over 90% of land has been purchased from 71,621 farmers in the past four months.
About 9% of the land in between Prayagraj and Meerut had to be cleared for constructing the Ganga Expressway. A survey was also conducted by the SR Asia Agency, regarding the harmful impact of the Expressway on the life and livelihoods of the local people. It was also said that the people affected by the Expressway would be compensated and rehabilitated. However, on the completion of the survey, the results indicated that although the villagers were affected by the construction of the Ganga Expressway, it would bring about considerable development in the villages and surrounding areas. The villagers also believed that the construction of the Ganga Expressway would create employment opportunities.
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Ganga expressway real estate impact
The expressway will offer faster passenger and cargo movements and bolster industrial corridors, agricultural marketing value chains and tourism circuits along its route.
Once operational, the Ganga expressway will become the longest expressway in Uttar Pradesh, connecting the western and eastern regions of the state and providing improved connectivity to the national capital from eastern UP. It will also be linked with major corridors such as Purvanchal Expressway, Yamuna Expressway and Agra Lucknow expressway. Moreover, two junctions will be developed near Unnao, and the Lucknow-Kanpur expressway will be connected with the Ganga expressway through a ramp, enabling vehicles to move on both expressways.
Further, the expressway is expected to bolster economic activities along the route, including industrial development, trade, agriculture, and tourism. It will also boost socio-economic development around the region.
The government is planning to develop Special Economic Zones (SEZs), which are expected to steer commercial real estate developments around the region. According to the UPEIDA, industrial clusters comprising pharma parks, textile parks, plastic moulding units and industrial units of other sectors will be developed along all districts through which the Ganga Expressway will pass. Furthermore, there are plans for the development of food processing units, which will increase demand for other industries in the area. In terms of the residential real estate, the areas such as Kanpur, Prayagraj, Meerut, and Uttarakhand are expected to see increased housing demand due to improved road connectivity.
Property rates along the Ganga Expressway
| Location | Average property price per sqft | Average monthly rentals |
| Meerut | Rs 5,200 | Rs 13,600 |
| Shahjahanpur | Rs 5,500 | Rs 10,000 |
| Prayagraj | Rs 7,300 | Rs 11,800 |
| Varanasi | Rs 7,100 | Rs 15,200 |
Ganga Expressway: Harmful impacts
While it is true that the Ganga Expressway would bring about considerable development in villages, its construction is also expected to affect around 1,024 villages. The exact number of villages that would be affected was not mentioned by the government until Kamalesh Singh asked the same through the RTI Act. The construction of the Ganga Expressway is also said to affect around 14,000 hectares of land and thereby, reduce crop production, affecting the livelihood of several farmers. However, surveys conducted reveal that the villagers are willing to compromise their land, hoping for positive developments that would be brought about by the Expressway.
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Housing.com News Viewpoint
The development of the Ganga Expressway has increased real estate investment opportunities along the corridor. So, it is an ideal time to buy a property near the expressway. The prices are expected to increase in future as the expressway nears completion. It will be beneficial for those looking to earn rental income.
FAQs
The proposed Ganga Expressway is in Uttar Pradesh and will be a six-lane greenfield expressway.
Once completed, the Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg will be the longest expressway in India, at 701 kms.
Ganga Expressway will have a length of 594 kms.
Ganga Expressway will connect many districts of Uttar Pradesh like Hapur, Meerut, Bulandshahar, Sambhal, Amroha, Hardoi, Badaun, Unnao, Shahjahanpur, Prayagraj (Allahabad) and Rai Bareli.
Ganga Expressway will connect 519 villages in Uttar Pradesh.
The proposed maximum speed of vehicles on Ganga Expressway will be 120 km per hour.
According to Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEDIA), the project cost of Ganga Expressway will be Rs 36,000-Rs 42,000 crore. Where is Ganga Expressway?
Which is longest expressway in India?
What will be total length of the Ganga Expressway?
What districts will be connected by Ganga Expressway?
How many villages will be connected by Ganga Expressway?
What is the proposed speed of vehicles on Ganga Expressway?
What will be the project cost of constructing Ganga Expressway?
When will Ganga Expressway project start?
The project began after the prime minister laid the foundation stone of the Ganga Expressway in December 2021. The expressway will be ready in 2024.
Which are the districts covered by the Ganga expressway?
The Ganga expressway will cover major districts in Uttar Pradesh such as Meerut, Hapur, Buladshahar, Amroha, Sambhal, Badaun, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Unnao, Rae Bareli, Pratapgarh and Prayagraj.
How far is Prayagraj from Meerut by Ganga Expressway?
Meerut to Prayagraj distance is 596 km through the Ganga expressway.
Is Ganga Expressway ready?
The 594-km Ganga expressway is expected to be operational by December 2024.
(With inputs from Surbhi Gupta)
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