Airports, Expressways, logistics hubs & more: ‘Brand UP’ in the making under Yogi govt

New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has already scripted a development saga of the state. The state’s development, which kind of derailed till 2017. The lack of development was often attributed to the fact that ever since seaports became the main mode of transportation and business, the landlocked states have little to flourish.

But it was only not till Yogi Adityanath perceived it the other way and how he ‘unlocked’ the ‘locked potential of the state in just four years is nothing short of a folklore for all to follow in the times to come. The real crux of this development story lies in the fact how the snag of being ‘landlock’ was tackled to write a success story of Uttar Pradesh.

On the brink of breaking the shackles of this ‘landlock’, UP can expect to soon turn into a brand recognised and adored across the globe.

Over the past four years, CM Yogi’s government has worked on constructing expressways, airports, logistic parks, freight corridors, and cargo terminus on a war-footing. Also, if you look at the current budget of the state government, it has allocated significant funds to the infrastructure required to attract the big shots of the business world from around the world.

Let’s talk numbers achieved by the current UP government

Expressways

– About 87 percent of the 340-kilometer Purvanchal expressway has been completed
– The rest 25 percent of the work will be completed in coming months.
– The Yogi government has made a provision of Rs 1107 crore for the same in the budget
– Similarly, the 296 kilometer Bundelkhand expressway is also expected to be completed by 2022. About 52 percent work on this is completed so far.
– To complete it at a rapid pace, the government has allocated Rs 1492 crore for this project in the budget
– The 592 kilometer Ganga Expressway, that connects Meerut with Prayagraj, is also amongst the priorities of the state government
– This expressway will be made out of a budget of Rs 7689 crore
– A budget of Rs 860 crore has been allocated for Gorakhpur Link Expressway

The total length of all the proposed expressways will be about 1789 kilometers. Probably, Uttar Pradesh is going to be the only state in the country with such a large expressway network.

The latest achievement of the Yogi government has been to facilitate the construction of Delhi- Meerut Expressway which will relieve the commuters going from Delhi to Meerut as well as the journey to Dehradun and rest of Uttarakhand made easy. This was the long-pending demand of NCR to decongest the traffic on this route and Yogi made it possible and that too by dedicating 14-lane expressway. The issues of land acquisition and other logistics had been cleared by the Yogi government which was on the hold by the previous government.

Air Connectivity

Improving air connectivity to ensure safe, pleasurable, and quick transportation will also play a crucial role in unlocking the landlocked in UP. The state government is working on a war footing to execute this project as well.

UP has now flights to 68 destinations, eight functional airports, ten under-construction, UP will be the only state to have five international airports, a dream that came true in four years.

Currently Active in Airports In UP

– Lucknow
– Agra
– Varanasi
– Gorakhpur
– Prayagraj
– Hindon, and
– Kanpur
-Bareilly

Updates On The Upcoming Airports In The State

– Aligarh, Azamgarh, Shravasti, and Moradabad Airports are complete now
– These airports are only waiting for their license to start flight operations
– Apart from this, airport construction work is going on in Chitrakoot and Sonbhadra districts
– The process of acquiring land in Saharanpur, Jhansi, Meerut, and Lalitpur is also in progress
– International Airport of Kushinagar has got the DGCA license
– Flight operations will begin there soon
– Work is underway in Asia’s largest and 6 runway greenfield airport at Greater Noida Jewar
– The government has made a provision of Rs 2000 crore for this in budget
– Similarly, there is a provision of Rs 101 crore in the budget for the international airport to be built in the name of ‘Maryada Purushottam Lord Shri Ram’ in Ayodhya
– The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has approved a proposal of Rs 250 crore for the circulation of ATR-72 aircraft

Once these projects are complete, Uttar Pradesh will proudly welcome visitors from India and abroad at more than 20 different airports.
-UP being the only state in the country to have five International airports

Freight Corridors and Logistics Hubs

Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a big gift to the state as Eastern Freight Corridor. He dedicated the New Bhaupur-New Khurja section of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor to the country.

Moreover, in the sixth meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog, CM Yogi had said that his government wants to develop Dadri as a big logistics hub of the country. For this, the government is removing the bottlenecks in the implementation of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor and the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor. Additionally, multimodal logistics-transport hubs are being set up in Dadri, Boraki and Varanasi.

Reviving the rich ‘River Economy’ of Uttar Pradesh

After cleaning the rivers with a lot of hard work and determination, CM Yogi is all set to use them to revive the ‘River Economy’ of the state to break the landlock.

About 1500 kilometer long waterway from Varanasi to Haldia Bengal is operational. It is the only national waterway in India. This route has proved its utility during the dreadful Corona period. It was one of the safest and most useful ways for the export of vegetables and fruits on a large scale.

Now, the Yogi government will use this route for transportation of coal, food, grains, cement, edible oil, and large cargo. The plans are in place to use other rivers also to create such waterways.

CM Yogi’s ‘Dream UP’

These courageous works of the Yogi-led government are going to lay the foundation of the state’s golden era’. In a true sense, this is a planned and strong move for a trillion-dollar economy in line with the Chief Minister’s intention.

With these works, the missing link in Uttar Pradesh’s supply chain will be completely eliminated. Not only will Uttar Pradesh be connected to the whole world, but with the breakdown of landlock, the markets of the state will also be opened to the world. UP will start developing in a totally new manner, where even the dormant resources will become functional and plenty of business opportunities will be created.

ODOP to give global recognition to ‘Brand UP’

One District, One Product (ODOP), one of the most ambitious schemes of CM Yogi, is also going to take a new flight with these developments in place. It will save time and resources to deliver products to the destination. Quick and safe cargo will reach the ports, which will cause minimal damage to perishable products. When this happens, the country’s ports will also become a part and strength of Uttar Pradesh.

The state will become an industrial and logistics hub as per the Chief Minister’s intention. Supply chain market players from all over the world will use these facilities to buy and sell goods from India including Uttar Pradesh. This will only export steel, petroleum products, iron ore, cement, fertilizer, and food grains. Along with the farmers, the artisans will also get a world market and a new vision. People will turn to new opportunities. This will give wings to entrepreneurship in the state.