In a bid to double the state’s merchandise exports to INR 3 trillion, the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government is planning to set up a network of warehouses, cargo terminals, and trucking hubs that are strategically place across the state.
These infra projects will be concentrated in the leading industrial pockets of the state and in the vicinity of expressways, including the upcoming Ganga Expressway.
The UP government under the state’s Warehousing & Logistics Policy is offering an array of sops and financial incentives to attract private investments and has also constituted a committee under the transport commissioner to evaluate private investment proposals for the setting up of the logistics network.
“The government has drawn up a blueprint to nurture a connectivity web of air, water, road and rail network (in order) to ease logistics and facilitate industry to access the global and domestic markets,” a senior official of the state’s department of industry said.
These slew of infrastructure projects spanning expressways, industrial corridors, and logistics are aimed at helping the state leverage its industrial and investment potential.
UP at present has India’s first operational inland waterway spanning 1,100-km-long. This stretch of the Inland Waterways connects Prayagraj to Haldia port in West Bengal and includes a multi-modal terminal at Varanasi and floating terminals in Ghazipur, Varanasi, and Prayagraj.
India’s first ‘Freight Village’, spread over 100 acres, is also proposed in Varanasi. The village would serve as a trans-shipment hub for inbound and outbound cargo, connecting exporting centers of eastern UP to the ports of east India.
Apart from being home to the largest network of national highways (NH), UP leads in terms of expressways with nearly a dozen existing and upcoming ones.
As per industry experts the growing number of expressway projects and industrial corridors in UP will fuel the industrial growth in the state casting a multiplier effect on different industries including automobiles, tyres, logistics, etc.
The Yogi Adityanath led government has plans to convert expressways into special corridors for industries including manufacturing and food processing. UP Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) will acquire 100 acres in the vicinity of each expressway project for industrial development. The state will incur Rs 4,000 crore on the acquisition.
In addition to this, the state will also complete the construction of the Noida International Airport, at Jewar and inaugurate CM’s Dream project-the country’s largest multimodal cargo hub by 2024 at the Airport. On operationalization, the terminal will bolster exports from UP and facilitate seamless connectivity between UP’s agriculture market, ODOP, and MSME markets with the global market.
Further, the state is looking to become a manufacturing hub of major electric vehicles and batteries in South Asia and develop a robust charging network on highways and expressways.
