Adani, IRB to start work on Ganga Expressway - India's longest BoT

The Uttar Pradesh government has acquired 94% of the land needed for construction of the ₹36,230 crore Ganga expressway (594 km) connecting Meerut with Prayagraj – thereby providing the two private sector concessionaires, Adani Enterpises and IRB Infrastructure Developers, right of way to begin construction of the state's longest expressway soon. Environment clearance for the project too has been secured.

With the clearances in place, the UP government is hopeful that the project will be completed ahead of the scheduled completion target of 2025. An official from the UP Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) told Fortune India, “Work on this flagship project is on at a great speed despite the roadblocks put forward by Covid-19. Around 7,386 hectares of land is required for the expressway of which almost 94% of the land needed for the purpose has already been acquired by the UPEIDA.”

The official added that land compensation to all the farmers – about ₹8 lakh – has been paid by the government. The Authority has issued letter of award to AEL and IRB for construction of the project.

Adani Enterprises has won contracts to build three stretches of the Ganga Expressway project for a concession period of 30 years. “Ganga expressway connecting Meerut with Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad) will be India’s longest expressway to be implemented on a design, build, finance, and operate (DBFOT) basis. Of the total expressway length of 594 km, Adani Enterprises will build 464 km from Badaun to Prayagraj, which comprises 80% of the expressway project,” the official added.

IRB Infrastructure has bagged ₹6,555 crore project to develop 129 km section between Meerut and Badaun on the Ganga expressway project.