The Uttar Pradesh Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) has initiated construction of a 74-kilometre link road joining the Yamuna Expressway and the Ganga Expressway after issuing tenders to select developers for the first and second phases. The selected developer will be responsible for design, engineering, procurement and construction as well as maintenance during a five-year defect liability period. Officials said the work is planned to be completed in about three years. The project carries an estimated cost of Rs 85.86 billion (Rs 8,586 crore) and will be built as a six-lane controlled-access road with scope to expand to eight lanes in future. The state government has allocated Rs 250 crore (Rs 2.5 billion) in the supplementary budget for initial work. The cabinet has given final approval for the project, underlining its priority for regional connectivity and economic development. The link will commence at the 24.8-kilometre point of the Yamuna Expressway near the proposed Film City in Sector 21 of the Uttar Pradesh Expressway Industrial Development Authority area and will join the 44.3-kilometre point of the Ganga Expressway near Syana in Bulandshahr. The alignment passes through a total of 56 villages, including eight in Gautam Buddha Nagar and 48 in Bulandshahr. Land acquisition is under way in both districts, with approximately 90 per cent of the land required in the Yamuna Authority area already acquired and about 23 hectares at Mehndipur and Bhaipur still to be obtained. Under the project seven underpasses, 11 minor bridges, three major bridges, two underpasses, one flyover and four railway overbridges will be constructed along the route. Construction will proceed in two phases, with the first phase covering approximately 24 kilometres from Bhaipur Brahmanan in Greater Noida to Bichaul village in Bulandshahr and the second phase covering approximately 50 kilometres from Bichaul to Bahanpur in the Syana area. Officials said the link will establish direct connectivity between the two expressways, improve access to industrial parks and logistics clusters developing along the corridors and boost industrial and commercial activity in western Uttar Pradesh.