A 3.5-km stretch on the Ganga Expressway in Shahjahanpur is all set to become the country’s first expressway with night landing facility for Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jets, according to the Uttar Pradesh government.
The development comes amid escalating tension between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam terrorist attack.
An airshow is scheduled to be held on this airstrip on May 2 and 3 and night landing is planned on the Ganga Expressway in the presence of the CM, said a press statement issued by the state government.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who inspected the airstrip in Shahjahanpur on Sunday, said the Ganga Expressway will prove to be a milestone in the development of Uttar Pradesh and its construction work will be completed by November 2025.
Nearly 250 CCTV cameras will be installed on both sides of the airstrip for security to ensure safe passage and enable prompt police action in case of any suspicious activity.
For operational purposes, this expressway is more important for the IAF than two other airstrips on the Lucknow-Agra and Purvanchal Expressways.
“Now, Uttar Pradesh has three expressways that have landing facility for fighter jets – Lucknow-Agra, Purvanchal and Ganga Expressway,” said Awanish Awasthi, IAS (retd) and advisor to CM.
Out of these three, the Ganga Expressway is the first in the country that has the night landing facility for fighter jets. Jumbo carriers of the Air Force can land and take-off from this airstrip on Shahjahanpur.
Besides Shahjahanpur, the chief minister inspected the under-construction 593.947 km Ganga Expressway in Hardoi and Hapur. Giving directions to complete the project within the stipulated timeline, he laid stress on maintaining the highest quality standards.
The chief minister announced extension of the Ganga Expressway from Prayagraj to Ghazipur, enhancing connectivity and travel convenience.
The Ganga Expressway will have six lanes, which can be expanded to eight if needed. The width of its Right of Way (ROW) is 120 metres, while the design speed is 120 km per hour. Nine public facilities complexes are also being constructed, where passenger amenities will be available.
The expressway will also connect Meerut to Haridwar, further boosting regional connectivity. The state government has already allocated ₹50 crore in this year’s budget for the project.
According to the state government, plans are underway to establish an industrial hub along the Ganga Expressway in Shahjahanpur, generating employment opportunities for thousands of youth.
The state government has also plans to link the Ganga Expressway with the Bundelkhand Expressway via a link expressway from Farrukhabad.
The chief minister stated that Ganga Expressway will be connected to Bundelkhand through the link expressway from Farrukhabad.
This will speed up the establishment of industrial units in Bundelkhand, the chief minister said.
Travelling by car on the expressway and reviewing the construction quality firsthand, the chief minister first inspected the 347+000 chainage in Bilgram tehsil of Hardoi under Group-3, followed by a visit to the 242+650 chainage in Jalalabad, Shahjahanpur under Group-2 (Badaun-Hardoi section). Finally, he reached the 62+200 chainage in Garh Mukteshwar tehsil of Hapur, part of the Meerut-Badaun Group-1 section.
He also enquired about the German technology being introduced in the project and received a detailed briefing on its applications.
He interacted with the workers on site.
Expressing satisfaction with the progress of construction work in Groups 1 and 2, the chief minister instructed officials to accelerate further the pace of work in Groups 3 and 4.
He arrived at the Mallawan and Madhoganj development blocks of Hardoi district to inspect the expressway. After landing at a helipad near Hasanpur Gopal, he walked a short distance on the expressway before travelling about 5 kilometres by car to assess its quality personally.
Later, he reached Jalalabad in Shahjahanpur to inspect the construction work. He reviewed the progress through an aerial survey, including a 3.5 km-long airstrip being developed as part of the project.
In Hapur, he inspected the newly constructed bridge on the Ganga, walked across it, and interacted with the labourers, posing for a photo session with them.
At all three locations, he also interacted with public representatives, updated them on the project’s status, and instructed them to monitor the progress regularly.
Uttar Pradesh Expressway Industrial Development Authority additional chief executive officer Srihari Pratap Shahi said the Ganga Expressway is being constructed in four sections. Apart from Group-4, which is located between Rae Bareli and Prayagraj, the chief minister reviewed the progress of the other three sections during his visit.