Yamuna Expressway, India

The Yamuna Expressway is a 165.5km motorway in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is scheduled for completion in 2011, when it will connect the cities of Noida and Agra via Mathura along the Yamuna River. The Yamuna Expressway was previously known as the Taj Expressway as it will connect Greater Noida – a proximal area to the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT) – with the Taj Mahal in Agra. It was renamed in July 2008 by the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA), constituted by the state government.

The expressway will reduce the travel time between Agra and Delhi by 100 minutes. The distance of 210km can be travelled in approximately two hours. The project will relieve traffic congestion on the National Highway-91; on the Old Grand Trunk (GT) road between Delhi and Kanpur, and the cities of Palwal, Ballabgarh and Faridabad on the National Highway-2. It will provide uninterrupted movement of freight and passenger traffic for the towns and commercial centres on the east side of the Yamuna Expressway.

The project was estimated to cost approximately INR22.5bn, but has overrun due to a rise in construction costs and a delay in land acquisition. Construction began in December 2007. The total project cost of the Yamuna Expressway and land acquisition costs for real estate developments is projected to be approximately INR97.39bn.

Yamuna Expressway master plan

The Yamuna Expressway interconnects the NH-91 and NH-2 and will give impetus to urbanisation and industrialisation in the region.

The expressway will serve the upcoming regional infrastructural developments in Greater Noida and Noida regions. The developments include the proposed Taj economic zone, Taj International Airport hub and ribbon development on about 2,500ha including five integrated townships with commercial, institutional and residential developments.

As per the master plan developed by YEIDA, the project will be developed in three phases along the river. Phase I will cover the stretch from Greater Noida to the proposed airport in the town of Jewar. Phase II will be a stretch from the airport to an intermediate destination before Agra. Phase III will eventually connect the expressway to Agra.

The first 40km of the expressway will be located in Gautam Budh Nagar district. It will pass between Noida and Jewar.

The next 20km will be located in Aligarh district. A 90km stretch following the route will be located in Mathura district and will pass between Nohjhil and Baldev villages. The expressway will end near Etmadpur village in Agra district following another 15km.

The expressway project

The Uttar Pradesh state government approved the construction of the Yamuna Expressway in 2001 and the tender process began in 2003. The 165.53km expressway project is a six-lane motorway, having a potential to be extended to eight lanes. The expressway will be a dual carriageway with three lanes, 3.75m wide in both directions, with the potential to expand to four lanes.

The expressway includes a right-of-way strip of 100m. The pavement will be of rigid concrete, instead of regular bitumen pavement – the only other concrete-paved motorway in India is the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.

The other allied structures of the project are seven interchanges, seven toll plazas on the interchange loops and three main toll plazas. In addition to manual toll collection, the company also plans to use automated toll facilities with electronic tags installed in the user vehicles. It will have 35 underpasses and a major bridge and one rail-over-bridge. The project includes the construction of 42 minor bridges, 68 cart track crossings and 204 culverts. A total of 13 service roads of about 168km will be built for local commuters.

The expressway will also have facilities such as rest areas with parking and shelters, motels and restaurants, fuel stations, automobile repair shops, pay phones, public conveniences and cold drinks kiosks along the route. It will feature landscaping and plantations for aesthetic design and safety.

Safety

The access-controlled expressway will have barricades along the route. It will have limited road crossings, about 50 fly-overs and 60 pedestrian crossing points.

Contractors

In February 2003, YEIDA awarded the build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract to Jaiprakash Industries, which later merged with Jaypee Cement (JCL).

JCL, now known as Jaiprakash Associates (JAL), is a flagship company of Jaypee Group, an infrastructural industrial conglomerate in India. JAL as concessionaire will collect the tolls during a concession period of 36 years.

In April 2007, Jaypee Group incorporated Jaypee Infratech (JIL), a special purpose vehicle for planning, investing, implementing, operating and maintaining the expressway. JIL is also working on the development of the expressway's related real estate projects. The project management consultants include LEA Associates South Asia Private (LASA), Intercontinental Consultants & Technocrats (ICT), Scott Wilson India (SW) and Consulting Engineering Services India (CES).

In 2009, JAL awarded two contracts of INR4.33bn to Brahmaputra Infraproject for the construction of about 59km of the expressway. The scope of work includes construction of major interchanges, minor bridges, earthen embankment, cart track and vehicular track underpasses.

ICICI Bank is the lead banker funding JAL for the project.