LUCKNOW, July 19 -- With a view to keeping heavy trucks off city roads and creating modern logistics hubs on Lucknow's outskirts. Two new Transport Nagar projects worth around Rs.650 crore have been proposed under the Uttar Pradesh State Capital Region (UPSCR)-2051 plan. If approved, the projects are expected to reduce congestion on major highways, improve freight movement and strengthen infrastructure for the city's expanding industrial and commercial sectors, officials said. The proposal envisages two 40-hectare Transport Nagars-one in the Lucknow Development Authority's (LDA) Varun Vihar scheme and the other in the Uttar Pradesh Housing and Development Board's (Awas Vikas Parishad) Gosainganj scheme. Together, they will span 80 hectares and provide dedicated facilities for truck parking, cargo handling and goods distribution. A senior LDA official, requesting anonymity, said the projects have been proposed to handle the expected rise in freight traffic over the coming decades. "The objective is to disperse the load of heavy vehicles before they enter the city, which will help reduce traffic congestion and improve freight movement," the official said. According to the proposal, the Varun Vihar Transport Nagar will be developed over 40 hectares at an estimated cost of around Rs.200 crore. It has been included under Phase 1A (2026-28) and will be executed by the LDA with state government funding. The proposal states that the project will not require land acquisition. The Gosainganj Transport Nagar, also spread over 40 hectares, has been estimated to cost around Rs.450 crore. It has been placed under Phase 1B (2027-30) and will be developed by the Uttar Pradesh Housing and Development Board under the public-private partnership (PPP)-hybrid annuity model (HAM). Unlike the Varun Vihar project, it will require land acquisition. The UPSCR-2051 proposal notes that freight traffic has increased significantly on National Highway-27, National Highway-731, the Purvanchal Expressway and the Agra-Lucknow Expressway, leading to frequent congestion on connecting routes to Unnao and Barabanki. To address the problem, the regional plan proposes developing up to 12 freight holding areas and truck terminals along national highways on the outskirts of major urban centres. Each terminal has been planned over 8-10 hectares, with parking for around 500 trucks and an annual freight-handling capacity of 2-3 million tonnes. These facilities are intended to function as consolidation, storage and distribution hubs, limiting the entry of heavy commercial vehicles into urban areas. The proposal also identifies dedicated truck parking and freight holding locations across the SCR after assessing freight movement along major corridors. Officials believe the logistics network will improve transport efficiency, reduce travel time, ease congestion and strengthen connectivity between industrial clusters and highways....