The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh is looking to raise Rs 12,000 crore to fund the construction cost of the country’s longest expressway, the upcoming 341-km Poorvanchal Expressway from Lucknow to Ghazipur.The state government has issued an Expression of Interest (EoI) document, stating its intention to raise Rs 12,000 crore from domestic or international financial institutions, including equity funds, banks and alternative funding agencies, “in the form of loan/investment/other forms of infrastructure-funding” to UP Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) to part-finance the project.The money will be “repayable over 12 years’ period after a moratorium during construction period of three years (total period of 15 years) for civil construction work of the project”, it said.ET has reviewed a copy of the EoI document issued on May 7. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to lay the foundation stone for the expressway project next month.It is one of the most expensive expressways in the country, pegged at a total ofRs 23,349 crore with construction cost alone estimated at Rs 11,718 crore. The Uttar Pradesh government has already spent Rs 6,100 crore from its own funds to buy 91% of the land required for the expressway project.The government said it is exploring private/institutional funding to assess market potential of big infrastructure projects, gauge market interest and seek inputs for project funding.The state has gone extra mile in the last one year to reduce the cost of this project, including re-inviting bids for its construction.Width of the median strip of the expressway was reduced from an initial proposal of 22.5 metres to 5.5 metres in consultation with National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), which has led to an estimated saving of Rs 883 crore.The expressway will have crash barriers and anti-glare screens on both sides of the median to take care of safety of motorists.The expressway, which will connect nine agriculturally predominant districts to the state capital, is expected to be completed in 2021.