Out of 12 industrial corridors the Union cabinet approved on Wednesday, two — Prayagraj and Agra — are in Uttar Pradesh. Although the Union ministry of commerce and industry has stipulated a minimum land parcel of 1,000 acres for corridor development, the Prayagraj corridor will be constructed on a smaller land parcel of 352 acres, said Union minister Piyush Goyal.
Clarifying the reason behind this exception, officials from the the ministry of commerce and industry said that the UP government had made a special request to develop the Prayagraj corridor on a 352-acre land parcel adjacent to the Saraswati Hi-tech City project. Consequently, the Prayagraj corridor will be built on this smaller land parcel.
The officials explained that the corridor will serve as an augmentation of the Saraswati Hi-tech City. The Prayagraj corridor project is estimated to cost around Rs 658 crore, with an expected employment potential of approximately 18,000 jobs. The industrial corridor is anticipated to attract investments of around Rs 1,600 crore.
The site will be strategically located next to National Highway 35, connecting Mahoba and Varanasi. NH-30 is situated 10 km from the site, while Prayagraj railway station is 16 km away, and Naini station a mere 5 km. Similarly, Prayagraj airport is 24 km from the site, and Varanasi Airport 150 km away.
The Prayagraj corridor will prioritize sectors such as e-mobility-based automobiles, food processing and beverages, leather articles, readymade garments, cycle manufacturing, and packaging.
In Agra, the land parcels will be primarily allocated for non-polluting industries. A total of 1,058 acres has been designated for the project, with an estimated project cost of around Rs 1,812 crore. The project is expected to generate approximately 70,000 jobs with investment potential of around Rs 3,447 crore.
The focus sectors for the Agra corridor will include leather articles and apparel, food processing and beverages, medicine and medical consumables, engineering, and fabrication .
The project site is conveniently located 2 km from the Yamuna Expressway and 2 km from NH 19. Agra Airport is 25 km away, while Jewar Airport is 140 km from the site.
Commenting on the timeline, Union minister of commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal stated that, subject to cooperation from the state governments, the corridors are expected to be completed by 2027. He mentioned that land acquisition for all the corridors has been completed, and inquiries have already started coming in regarding the corridors. The primary objective is to decongest existing industrial parks and regions, as explained by the
officials.
These two corridors will be in addition to the already executed project at Dadri, Greater Noida. Among the four projects currently under construction under the scheme operative since 2020, the Multi-modal Logistics Hub and Multi-modal Transport Hub projects are already underway at Dadri.
