To boost Uttar Pradesh’s economy to a trillion-dollar level, the Uttar Pradesh Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) plans to invest Rs 8,000 crore in creating industrial corridors along the state’s expansive expressway network.
Reports reveal that 1,812 hectares of land, worth Rs 3,200 crore, have been secured at 25 locations under the Chief Minister Industrial Area Expansion and New Industrial Area Promotion Scheme for this initiative.
These corridors will span 29 districts across 30 locations, developed along six expressways. This effort supports the state government’s goal of transforming Uttar Pradesh into ‘Udyog Pradesh’ and is expected to generate thousands of jobs.
Currently, the state boasts six operational expressways totaling 1,225 km, with another 2,600 km of expressways under construction.
The industrial corridors will be built on both sides of the Purvanchal Expressway, Agra-Lucknow Expressway, Bundelkhand Expressway and the proposed Chitrakoot Link Expressway. This also includes the under-construction Gorakhpur Link Expressway and Ganga Expressway.
Land acquisition has begun in Banda, Jalaun, Auraiya, Mahoba, Chitrakoot and Hamirpur along the Bundelkhand Expressway. Land is also being acquired along the Ganga Expressway in Meerut, Hardoi, Sambhal, Unnao, Amroha, Badaun, Shahjahanpur, Pratapgarh, Hapur, Prayagraj and Rae Bareli.
Also, land acquisition is underway in Sultanpur, Ghazipur, Ambedkar Nagar, Barabanki and Amethi along the Purvanchal Expressway; in Ambedkar Nagar for the Gorakhpur Link Expressway; and in Etawah for the Agra-Lucknow Expressway.
However, the process has yet to begin in Kanpur Nagar, Agra, Kannauj, and Firozabad along the Agra-Lucknow Expressway and in Lucknow for the Purvanchal Expressway, as reported by HT.
The most substantial land acquisitions have been in Meerut, Sambhal, Unnao, and Hardoi.
These expressways have significantly improved the state, once infamous for its poor road infrastructure, and have opened up new opportunities for industrial growth.
Recent reports indicate that the state has received project proposals worth around Rs 40,038 crore, supported by a new policy that encourages semiconductor manufacturing and attracts global investments.
Discussions are also underway with Japan’s Marubeni Corporation to establish next-generation industrial parks based on this model.
The government aims to acquire a total of 5,598 hectares to advance this project.