CM Yogi Adityanath OKs link e-way to connect Ballia, Ghazipur

LUCKNOW: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday gave his nod to the plan of 30-km Ballia Link Expressway, which would work as an extension of Purvanchal Expressway to finish the last leg of a seamless travel from Delhi till the Bihar border.
UPEIDA CEO Awanish Awasthi who was aggressively pursuing the project, confirmed to TOI that it has been cleared by the chief minister after a presentation before him at his official residence on Saturday.
To be constructed at a cost of around Rs 1,500 crore, the Ballia Link Expressway will have four lanes, expandable to six, and would connect Ghazipur and Ballia and end just before Bihar border.
While Purvanchal Expressway is connecting Lucknow and Ghazipur, Yamuna Expressway and Agra-Lucknow Expressway have already emerged as the most preferred road links between Delhi and Lucknow.
UP now has five expressways coming up over next two years at a cost of approximately Rs 90,000 crore. While Purvanchal Expressway is all set to be open for traffic early next year, Bundelkhand Expressway, and Gorakhpur Link Expressways are in different stages of completion. Besides, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is recently called UP "a state of expressways”, will soon lay the foundation stone of Ganga Expressway between Meerut and Prayagraj.
“The speedy approval of the Balia Link Expressway by the CM is an indication of his resolve for the development of Poorvanchal and making this region prosperous by linking it to the state capital and the national capital," Awasthi said.
“Purvanchal's direct access to the NCR and Delhi will attract lots of investment to boost medical and educational infrastructure in the region," Awasthi said.
The CM said at the meeting that the areas through which the expressway would pass would witness social and economic development, along with improvement in fields of agriculture, commerce, tourism, handicraft and local industries.
The link expressway will also act as a catalyst for various kinds of sectors. The government is expecting a growth in sectors like food processing, warehousing, mandis, milk production etc with units from these sectors expected to come up along the expressway. It will also boost tourism in eastern UP.
Facilities like Industrial Training Institute, and other educational and training institutes will be accessible from the expressway.