Ganga Expressway

2007: Conception

In 2007, Ganga Expressway was initially proposed by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister (CM), Mayawati as Greater Noida–Ballia Expressway,^[2][3] but remained stalled.^[7][8]

2019: Project revival

In 2019 the project was revived by the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath,^[7][8] who allocated the first installation of budget of ₹2,000 crores for the construction of Phase-1 in 2020. Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) is the government agency responsible for the project.^[9][10]

2019-2026: Phase-1 construction

The total expected project cost in 2021 was ₹37,350 crores, including the land acquisition cost of around ₹9,500 crores.^[11][12] In 2019, the land acquisition commenced and progressed regularly,^{[13][14][15][16]} which was mostly completed by 2021^[17] In 2021 the environmental clearance from Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change was obtained and Uttar Pradesh Cabinet approved ₹36,230 crore budget to build the expressway.^[18][19][20] On 18 December 2021, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone in Shahjahanpur,^[21][22][23] the construction work started in April 2022.^[24]

UPEIDA divided the Phase-1 construction work into 12 packages to be constructed on Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Transfer (DBFOT) Model.^[25][26] The list of Phase-1 contractors is as follows:

2025 onwards: Phase-2 construction

Phase-2 was approved in January 2025, paving the way for preparation of pre-construction DPR (Detailed Project Report).^[5]

Phase-1

Phase-2

Ganga Industrial corridor

Area along the Ganga Expressway is being developed as the industrial corridor. New Industries are coming up around Meerut, Baduan, Kanpur, Varanasi and Prayagraj.^[31] and there are government plans to setup the pharma parks, textile parks, IT parks along the Ganga Expressway.^[32][33]

• Meerut, In 2023, Uttar Pradesh government acquired the land to set up an industrial city in Meerut, adjacent to entry and exit points of the expressway.^[33]

• Kanpur, after the completion of both phases, will serve as a major node for economic and industrial activity, as it will be the central point of the expressway, with many projects planned in the Agra-Lucknow Expressway and Awadh Expressway region.^[34]

Military airstrip

Sections of Ganga Expressway have bene constructed to operate as the airstip for the Indian Military. Indian Air Force fighter jets and transport aircraft conducted landing and take-off drills on 2 May 2025 from a 3.5 km (2.2 mi)-long Emergency Landing Facility on the Expressway near Shahjahanpur with several types of aircraft which included Su-30MKI, Mirage 2000, MiG-29, Jaguar, C-130J Super Hercules, An-32, and the Mi-17 V5 helicopter.^[35][36][37]

Phase-1: Meerut-Prayagraj

The Ganga Expressway project, first proposed in 2007, was revived and officially relaunched by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on 29 January 2019. Planned to run broadly parallel to the Ganga river while maintaining a 10 km distance to meet environmental norms, the expressway is being executed in phases, with the 594 km Phase-1 connecting Meerut to Prayagraj.

By 2020, ₹2,000 crore was allocated for construction, and land acquisition accelerated through 2021, reaching over 90% by August that year. The project received environmental clearance in November 2021, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone on 18 December 2021. Contracts were awarded to Adani Enterprises and IRB Infrastructure, and physical construction began in April 2022.

By late 2023, major groundwork—including clearing, grubbing, and initial earthworks—was largely completed, and the Uttar Pradesh government also announced an industrial city near Meerut, adjacent to the expressway.

As of April 2026, Phase-1 had achieved 100% earthwork, 100% GSB, 100% WMM, 100% DBM in Main Carriageway, and 1,498 of 1,498 structures completed, with overall progress stands at 100%.^[38]

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the much anticipated expressway on April 29, 2026. With its inauguration the Uttar Pradesh Government is planning to create industrial hubs along the expressway as a part of Industrial corridor in a Hub and Spoke model.

Phase 2

Phase-2 includes two spur routes. Spur-1 (Meerut–Haridwar) received a ₹50 crore budget allocation in February 2025 for pre-construction activities.^[39][40] Spur-2 (Prayagraj–Ballia) remains in pre-construction, with surveys completed by UPEIDA in 2024 and preparatory work ongoing as of August 2025.^[41]