Prime Minister Modi noted that for industrial development of Uttar Pradesh, excellent connectivity is necessary and every corner of the state needs to be connected

“He also witnessed the Air Show on the 3.2 km long airstrip constructed on the Expressway in Sultanpur district," Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

This comes in the run-up to state assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and in the backdrop of ongoing farmer protests against the farm laws, with the protests widespread in agrarian states such as Haryana and Punjab.

“The Prime Minister noted that for industrial development of Uttar Pradesh, excellent connectivity is necessary, every corner of UP needs to be connected. He said as expressways are getting ready in UP, the work of the industrial corridor has also started. Very soon new industries will start coming up around Purvanchal Expressway," the statement said.

The BJP-led central government has also been pushing for big-ticket infrastructure projects in the state, such as the Rs22,500 crore Purvanchal Expressway aimed at providing road connectivity to eastern Uttar Pradesh. Industrial townships are being planned along the expressway to provide jobs for the youth and market access for farmers.

“In the coming days, in the cities situated along these expressways, work on products related to food processing, milk, cold storage, storage of fruits and vegetables, cereal, animal husbandry and other agricultural products are going to increase rapidly. He said skilled manpower is essential to the industrialization of UP. So work has also been started to train the manpower. ITI and other training institutes and medical institutes will also be established in these cities," the statement said.

“He said that this expressway will connect those cities with immense aspiration and huge potential for development with Lucknow. He said where the good road leads, good highways reach, there the pace of development increases, job creation happens faster," the statement added.

As part of its attempts to attract investments in the state, the Yogi Adityanath-led UP government has leveraged its industrial policy and prepared a roadmap for attracting investors. The state government is working on policy attractions’ such as creating land banks, promoting country-specific industrial parks and helping set up private industrial parks to attract investors.

“The Prime Minister lauded the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Shri Yogi Adityanath, his team and the people of UP on the completion of Purvanchal Expressway. He also thanked the farmers whose land was acquired for this project," the statement added.

The Purvanchal Expressway connects Lucknow-Sultanpur road (NH-731) and National Highway No. 31, 18 km east of UP-Bihar border and can be expanded to eight-lane in the future.

“The Prime Minister remarked that security of the country is equally important as the prosperity of the country. He said that keeping that in mind, emergency landing provision for fighter jets is made while constructing the Purvanchal Expressway," the statement said.