PM Modi inaugurates 594-km Ganga Expressway linking Meerut to Prayagraj | WATCH

Prayagraj: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the 594-km Ganga Expressway, a major infrastructure project running from Meerut to Prayagraj, officials said on Wednesday.

The high-speed corridor is designed to improve connectivity across Uttar Pradesh and is expected to support industrial growth, logistics efficiency, agricultural trade and wider regional development.

The expressway passes through 12 districts — Meerut, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Amroha, Sambhal, Badaun, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Unnao, Rae Bareli, Pratapgarh and Prayagraj — and is projected to significantly cut travel time while ensuring faster and safer movement of both passengers and freight.

The project is expected to significantly reduce travel time between Meerut and Prayagraj from the current 10-12 hours to approximately six hours, enhancing ease of movement and efficiency in transportation.

A key highlight of the project is the provision of a 3.5 km-long Emergency Landing Facility (airstrip) in Shahjahanpur district. This dual-use infrastructure enhances national security preparedness and adds strategic value beyond economic benefits.

The Ganga Expressway is envisioned as a major economic corridor, with the development of Integrated Manufacturing and Logistics Corridors over approximately 2,635 hectares across the 12 districts along its alignment. The expressway will reduce logistics costs, improve supply chain efficiency, and boost manufacturing competitiveness, a press release by the PMO stated.

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The project aims to provide farmers with direct access to urban and export markets, facilitating better price realisation and strengthening rural incomes. The project is also expected to boost tourism and generate direct and indirect employment opportunities across the region.

The expressway is set to become a key pillar of Uttar Pradesh’s expanding high-speed road network, integrating with several existing and planned corridors such as the Agra–Lucknow Expressway, Jewar Link Expressway, Farrukhabad Link Expressway and a proposed extension from Meerut to Haridwar. Together, these routes will form a wider grid of expressways, strengthening seamless connectivity across the state from east to west and north to south, and supporting more balanced regional growth.