Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government is contemplating an ambitious 747-kilometer Ganga express highway project connecting the NCR region with the eastern parts of the state.

Starting from freight container depot at Sikandarabad in Gautam Buddha Nagar, the 747-km-long express highway will touch Narora in Bulandshahr district and move along with the left bank of River Ganga up to Varanasi. The proposed eight-lane highway would pass through Bulandshahr, Badaun, Shahjhanpur, Fatehgarh, Hardoi, Unnao, Rae bareli, Pratapgarh, Allahabad, Sant Ravidas Nagar, Mirzapur and Varanasi districts.

State Government had hired Engineering and Technological Services, a New Delhi based company to prepare the feasibility report for the project which it had already submitted, sources said.

The Mayawati government plans to spend Rs 137080 million on the construction of the road.

PWD official said National Highway -2 connects Varanasi with the National Capital Region (NCR). Other highways including NH 56 and NH 24 passing through Lucknow were considered life lines of Uttar Pradesh.

The movement of freight transport as well as passenger transport would double after ten years and new road network was required for faster movement of the traffic. Irrigation Department had been directed to construct an eight- foot-high and 40-meter-wide bund along the left bank of river from Narora to Varanasi.

Irrigation Department officials said Rs 9160 crore would be spent on the construction of 627-km embankment along Ganga Express highway.

Along with assuring faster movement of traffic (120 km/per hour), the embankment would protect the nearby low-lying areas from recurrent flood.

Along with the road, PWD would construct three major river bridges, three major canal bridges, eight railway over bridges, 236 minor bridges, four flyovers on the national highway crossings, 10 flyovers on the state highway, 36 flyovers on the major district road and 210 underpasses.

A Service road would be constructed along the highway for the movement of local traffic. The new highway would attract investment and promote tourism in the region.

It would also help in the reclamation of the three lakh hectare land that would be used for agriculture, development of township, industrialization and afforestration, sources said.