India’s first expressway airstrip with night landing facility ready: UP govt

A 3.5-kilometre stretch on the Ganga Expressway in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, is now ready to become India’s first expressway airstrip with a night landing facility for Indian Air Force (IAF) jets. The Uttar Pradesh government announced this major development, which comes at a time of rising tension between India and Pakistan after the recent Pahalgam terrorist attack.

The state government said an airshow will be organised on this new airstrip on May 2 and 3. Night landings will also take place in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. A government statement confirmed the airstrip is prepared for night operations, enhancing the country's defence capabilities.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inspected the airstrip in Shahjahanpur on Sunday. He said that the Ganga Expressway will become a major milestone in the development of Uttar Pradesh. He also confirmed that the entire Ganga Expressway project will be completed by November 2025.

To ensure security, nearly 250 CCTV cameras will be installed on both sides of the airstrip. This will help monitor the area and allow police to respond quickly if any suspicious activity is noticed.

According to officials, the Ganga Expressway airstrip is more important for the IAF than the other two existing airstrips located on the Lucknow-Agra Expressway and the Purvanchal Expressway. This is because the Shahjahanpur airstrip has the new night landing capability for fighter jets, which the other two do not yet have.

Moreover, jumbo carrier aircraft of the Air Force will also be able to land and take off from this airstrip, giving it a major operational advantage.

Inspections, project status and future plans

Apart from Shahjahanpur, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also inspected the ongoing work on the Ganga Expressway in Hardoi and Hapur districts. He directed officials to ensure that the construction is completed on time while maintaining high quality standards.

The Chief Minister also announced that the Ganga Expressway would be extended from Prayagraj to Ghazipur. This extension will further improve travel convenience and connectivity in the region.

The Ganga Expressway will be six lanes wide, with the possibility of being expanded to eight lanes in the future. Its Right of Way (ROW) is 120 metres wide. The designed speed limit for vehicles travelling on the expressway will be 120 kilometres per hour. To improve the experience for travellers, nine public facilities complexes are also being built along the expressway to provide basic amenities like toilets, food outlets, and resting areas.

In addition, the expressway will connect Meerut to Haridwar, strengthening regional connectivity further. The state government has already set aside ₹50 crore for this project in the current year's budget.

Another important announcement was about creating an industrial hub along the Ganga Expressway in Shahjahanpur. This is expected to generate thousands of new job opportunities for young people. The government is planning to link the Ganga Expressway with the Bundelkhand Expressway by building a connecting expressway from Farrukhabad.

This new link will help establish industrial units faster in the Bundelkhand region, boosting economic growth.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath personally travelled by car along the expressway to review the quality of the construction work. His inspection started at the 347+000 chainage in Bilgram tehsil of Hardoi under Group-3. He then visited 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 under Group-1 (Meerut-Badaun section).

He walked parts of the expressway, observed the ongoing work closely, and travelled by car across several stretches to assess quality personally. In Hardoi, after landing at a helipad near Hasanpur Gopal, he walked a short distance on the expressway before travelling nearly 5 kilometres in a car to check the construction standards.

Later in Shahjahanpur, he took an aerial survey to review the entire progress, including the 3.5-km-long airstrip being developed for fighter jet operations.

In Hapur, the Chief Minister inspected the newly constructed bridge over the Ganga river. He walked across the bridge, interacted with construction workers, and even posed for photographs with them.

At every location, he also met with public representatives, updated them about the status of the project, and instructed them to keep a close eye on the progress. He emphasised that quality and timely completion must be the top priorities.

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Additional Chief Executive Officer of the Uttar Pradesh Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), Srihari Pratap Shahi, explained that the Ganga Expressway is being built in four groups or sections. During his visit, the Chief Minister inspected the first three groups. Only Group-4, located between Rae Bareli and Prayagraj, was not covered during this round of inspection.

The Chief Minister also took interest in the new German technology being used in the construction. He received a detailed explanation from the officials about how this technology is improving the speed and quality of the work.

Expressing satisfaction with the progress made in Groups 1 and 2, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath instructed that the work in Groups 3 and 4 should be speeded up further.

The Ganga Expressway, once completed, is expected to transform Uttar Pradesh’s connectivity, boost economic activities, and strengthen India’s defence preparedness with its first-ever expressway night landing airstrip.