The Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) CEO Awanish Awasthi instructed officials to speed up construction work of toll plaza and toilet boxes along the Bundelkhand expressway. Around 69% of construction work on the expressway has been completed and 687 structures out of 818 along the expressway have already been built. During the meeting, officials said that out of 296.07-km around 213.03 km of the road has been constructed. As per the schedule, the construction work of all 14 bridges and four railways over bridges was in progress on the expressway. Officials also informed the CEO about the development of 18 flyovers. The origin of the expressway is at Bharat Koop in Chitrakoot district and joins with Agra – Lucknow Expressway. UPEIDA inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with BDL. The Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) signed an MoU with the UPEIDA for establishing a manufacturing unit in Jhansi by spending Rs 400 crore. The BDL will produce propulsion systems for different types of missiles produced by it.The MoU was inked between NP Diwakar, director, BDL, and Awanish Kumar Awasthi, CEO, UPEIDA. This will be the investment of BDL in phase one of the project in the defence corridor of Uttar Pradesh.It is part of the diversification and expansion plan of the BDL. The BDL is a mini-ratna category-1 company with its office in Hyderabad. BDL is the single public sector company that manufactures missiles and underwater weapons for the armed forces in the defence sector across the country. According to the MoU, under a lease agreement for an initial period of 30 years, the BDL will acquire 250 hectares of land in Jhansi, which will be extendable up to 90 years. Retired Commodore Siddharth Mishra, CMD, BDL, said that a new unit would be established at this location to manufacture propulsion systems for several types of missiles produced by the company. The upcoming facility at Jhansi will be the sixth unit of BDL and the first in northern India. He added that the BDL was planning to start operations at this facility by 2023, which would create employment opportunities in the region. Image Source Also read: Bundelkhand Expressway to be operational by the end of 2021