The two industrial hubs of Uttar Pradesh, Kanpur and Ghaziabad will soon be connected via a Greenfield Economic Corridor. The project is being taken under the centre's Bharatmala Phase 1. In an attempt to boost trade and transport, the Centre has approved the construction of a 380-km long corridor between the two cities. The upcoming expressway will considerably reduce the commute time between Kanpur and Ghaziabad to just 3 hours. Notably, the Yamuna Expressway takes about 6 hours to complete the same journey.

The Greenfield Project between Kanpur and Ghaziabad was first announced in 2019 by the Union Road Transport and Highway Minister Nitin Gaddkari, with the rationale of bringing the two cities closer.

However, earlier this month, the Ministry passed the corridor proposal and gave the go head for the drafting of the detailed project report (DPR). As per the officials, DPR is expected to be filed within a year, to promptly complete the construction and meet the 2025 deadline.

The road link project will be completed in a phased manner, where during the initial phase, the highway is planned to be constructed as a 4-lane highway. In the upcoming phases, patches with underpasses and culverts (puliyas) will get 6 lanes and further the 380-km long 4-lane greenfield expressway will be converted into an 8-lane corridor.

The corridor will span across 9 districts in western UP, including, Aligarh, Bulandshahr, Kasganj, Kannauj, Kanpur, Farrukhabad, Unnao and Hapur.