Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said road projects worth Rs five trillion (tn) would be completed in Uttar Pradesh over the next two years and that new works totalling about Rs 500-600 billion (bn) had been approved. He made the announcement after inaugurating and laying the foundation for three National Highway projects valued at over Rs 48.5 bn. The event was attended by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Gadkari said infrastructure was the foundation of economic development and that power, transport and communication were key pillars for attracting investment and promoting trade. He said where good infrastructure existed trade flourished, capital investment followed, employment was created and poverty and unemployment declined. He added that Uttar Pradesh’s pace of development had accelerated since the BJP came to power at the Centre in 2014 and recalled a remark about American roads that he kept on display while serving as a minister in Maharashtra.

He said the ministry was exploring electric mass rapid transit solutions including ropeway-based systems and elevated electric buses, while noting the ministry did not build metro systems as they fell outside its mandate. The Centre would take up widening of the Lucknow–Sitapur highway to six lanes at an estimated cost of Rs 12 bn, which the minister said would reduce travel time between the two destinations from two hours to 50 minutes. He said he had travelled along the corridor from Kanpur to Lucknow in 22 minutes.

Rajnath Singh said he had pressed early for the projects and that a 23-km elevated corridor from the airport to the Outer Ring Road over Shaheed Path had been approved, along with a metro project above the elevated road. Gadkari credited the state leadership with approval of projects and said the BrahMos missile unit had been established in the region and that further major industries were likely to locate around Lucknow. He said the measures were intended to raise per capita income, boost exports and accelerate India’s growth by improving road infrastructure in Uttar Pradesh.