State Support Agreement for IMC Agra Signed by UP Govt, UPSIDA and NICDIT (8 November 2024)

What was decided

On 8 November 2024, two linked legal instruments were executed for IMC Agra as part of the Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor (AKIC) programme: a State Support Agreement (SSA) between the Government of Uttar Pradesh, the Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Authority (UPSIDA) and the National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT), and a Shareholder Agreement (SHA) between UPSIDA and NICDIT. Shareholder Agreement (SHA) between UPSIDA, and NICDIT for IMC Agra executed on 8th November, 2024, and State Support Agreement (SSA) between Government of Uttar Pradesh, UPSIDA, & NICDIT for IMC Agra executed on the same date.

The National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) and the Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Authority (UPSIDA) signed the State Support Agreement (SSA) and Shareholder Agreement (SHA) on a Friday, as part of the same signing round that also covered IMC Prayagraj. The agreements were officially signed by Shri Rajat Kumar Saini, CEO & MD, NICDC, and Shri Mayur Maheshwari, CEO, UPSIDA, establishing a framework for the development of these industrial clusters as strategic hubs in Uttar Pradesh under the AKIC initiative.

Background: how the project got here

IMC Agra was included for development under AKIC in the NICDIT meeting held on 14th July 2021. The State Government confirmed the availability of 1,058 acres of land for the project in December 2022. The SSA/SHA signing in November 2024 formalised the state-Centre partnership needed to move from land confirmation to actual site development.

Note: some public trackers group IMC Agra with the broader July 2024 NICDIT recommendation round used for sister AKIC nodes (Prayagraj, Zaheerabad, Gaya); those specific 8/18 July 2024 dates in NICDC's own status reports are attributed to Gaya and Zaheerabad/Prayagraj respectively, not to a separate Agra recommendation — Agra's inclusion approval traces to the 2021 NICDIT meeting cited above.

Operative details: area, location and connectivity

IMC Agra is spread across 1,058 acres along Agra's Inner Ring Road, and is located just 25 km from the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC), 205 km from Delhi NCR, and 334 km from Lucknow. It is positioned between key junctions linking the Agra-Lucknow Expressway, offering seamless road connectivity.

NICDC's own project listing puts the Project Area at 1,058 acres, Project Cost at ₹1,812 crore, Investment Potential at ₹3,447 crore, and Employment Potential at 69,516 jobs. Separately, the PIB press note on the signing cited investment anticipated at over INR 3,400 crore, boosting the region's industrial growth and economic development.

Corporate structure: the project SPV

The SSA and SHA set the stage for a joint-venture special purpose vehicle. The AKIC Integrated Manufacturing Cluster Agra-Prayagraj Ltd SPV was incorporated on 30th January 2025, combining the Agra and Prayagraj nodes under one implementation entity — consistent with NICDC's standard model elsewhere on the corridor of a state authority holding a majority stake alongside NICDIT.

Practical effect of the agreement

Execution of the SSA and SHA converts IMC Agra from a land-confirmed proposal into a project with a binding funding and governance framework. In practice this means: (i) the state and NICDIT commit matching equity and support obligations to the SPV; (ii) the SPV becomes the vehicle through which consultants, master planners and EPC contractors are appointed; and (iii) trunk infrastructure works — roads, power, water and other backbone systems — can be tendered once statutory clearances are in place. Consultants have since been appointed for detailed master planning, preliminary engineering and cost estimates for the Agra node.

Current status and the key blocker: Taj Trapezium Zone

As of the National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation's own project-status ('DMU') reports, the single biggest hold-up for IMC Agra is environmental clearance tied to its location. IMC Agra falls within the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ), requiring approval of the Hon'ble Supreme Court for felling and translocation of trees, and the case regarding TTZ/tree-felling permission was listed for hearing before the Supreme Court on 21st January 2026. However, the matter was not taken up on that date, and the next hearing had not yet been listed as of that report.

An earlier status update (October 2025) recorded that approval for tree-felling permission for the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) in the Supreme Court was underway, with the EPC tender for trunk works dependent on resolving this clearance. Separately, the sister IMC Prayagraj node — under the same SPV — has moved further ahead: a Letter of Award was issued by the SPV to the EPC contractor for Trunk Infrastructure works on 27 October 2025 for Prayagraj, but no equivalent EPC award for Agra has been confirmed in public records.

Broader context on the TTZ litigation: the Taj Trapezium Zone is an eco-sensitive area of 10,400 sq km spread across Agra, Firozabad, Mathura, Hathras and Etah districts in UP and Bharatpur district in Rajasthan, created to protect the Taj Mahal from environmental pollution. The Supreme Court has been actively scrutinising tree-felling requests across TTZ projects, which explains the delay affecting IMC Agra's infrastructure tendering.

What this means for investors and local stakeholders

• The SSA/SHA signing is a notification of a binding institutional commitment, not a construction start — IMC Agra remains pre-construction as of the latest available NICDC status reports.
• Land (1,058 acres) has been confirmed as available by the State Government since December 2022, but public land-transfer figures for Agra specifically (unlike some other AKIC nodes) were not found in the reports reviewed — this should be treated as unconfirmed pending further disclosure.
• Any site works, tree clearing or EPC tendering for Agra are contingent on the Supreme Court resolving the TTZ tree-felling matter.
• Investors should track the SPV (AKIC Integrated Manufacturing Cluster Agra-Prayagraj Ltd) for plot allotment policy and EPC award announcements once the TTZ clearance is resolved.