Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the 296-km-long Bundelkhand Expressway, which passes through seven districts of Uttar Pradesh and has been constructed at a cost of around Rs 14,850 crore.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath welcomed Modi by offering him a local 'Bundeli' stole at the inauguration ceremony at Kaitheri village in Orai tehsil of Jalaun district.

"The state-of-the-art Bundelkhand Expressway passes through 7 districts. The local economy will benefit tremendously due to it. There will be great industrial development in the region and this would bring more opportunities for the local youth", tweeted PM Modi.

Modi had laid the foundation stone for the construction of the expressway on February 29, 2020 and it has been completed in about 28 months.

It extends from NH-35 at Gonda village near Bharatkoop in Chitrakoot district to near Kudrail village in Etawah district, where it merges with the Agra-Lucknow Expressway.

The four-lane expressway, which can be later expanded into six lanes, passes through seven districts -- Chitrakoot, Banda, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Auraiya and Etawah.

Besides improving connectivity in the region, the government expects the Bundelkhand Expressway to give a major boost to economic development and create thousands of jobs for the local people.

Work on creating an industrial corridor in Banda and Jalaun districts, next to the Expressway has already been started.?