UP CM outlines development agenda, Rs 23K cr for state highways

The Chief Minister also called on the domestic and foreign investors to take advantage of the investment opportunities being offered by the state.

"We realise that we need to upgrade infrastructure in the state to facilitate industry. We have an ambitious plan to invest Rs 23,000 crore for upgrading state highways. We have drawn up plans to construct a new expressway linking Lucknow and Agra and to connect all district headquarters with four lane highways", Yadav said at a session titled 'UP-Unlimited Opportunities' at the CII¿s Global Partnership Summit here.

The state government, he said, proposes to develop two new airports near Agra and Kushinagar under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode.

"We will partner with the Central Government to leverage the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor projects to create massive investment zones. PPP will be a key plank for executing many large infrastructure projects," he added.

On skill development, Yadav said the state government proposes to set up two new IITs.

"Our aim is that the youth of the State are provided skill training to improve their employability and to improve productivity across sectors. We will partner with the industry to ensure that skills that are to be imparted are relevant and updated," he added.

The state, he said, had launched a new policy for IT and ITES (Information Technology Enabled Services) sector with a\ view

... contd.