New Agra Urban Centre: Master Plan, Area and Land-Use Details

What is New Agra Urban Centre?

The Uttar Pradesh government is preparing the New Agra Urban Centre along the Yamuna Expressway, to be developed by YEIDA, aiming to house nearly 14 lakh residents while generating close to 10 lakh jobs. It is part of a broader strategy to turn the Yamuna Expressway belt into a high-investment corridor connecting Noida, Jewar Airport and Agra, with access to the Yamuna Expressway, the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor and planned high-speed rail links to Jewar Airport. Because the site sits inside the Taj Trapezium Zone, planning is focused on non-polluting industries such as tourism, IT, manufacturing, handicrafts, food processing, textiles and sports goods.

Planning horizon and how the total planned area has changed

The project has no single, final area figure yet — the numbers have grown through several rounds of survey and redrafting, and the plan sits under YEIDA's Master Plan-2031, on the Chandigarh sector model for the Agra node.

• 2023 concept stage: In November 2023, Yeida decided to build a new metropolis on 10,500 hectares in Agra.
• 2024 draft blueprint: The previous blueprint of New Agra Urban Centre, prepared by US-based Tractwell Sky Group with Enzyme Company, covered 10,500 hectares including 60 villages of Etmadpur, Agra. That survey covered only one side of the expressway, and officials later worried this could lead to illegal occupation of land on the unsurveyed side.
• April 2025 draft: YEIDA completed a master plan for the New Agra Urban Centre set to be developed across 12,200 hectares in 58 villages of Agra district, pending board approval.
• September 2025 review (86th board meeting): Phase-II Agra Urban Centre planning was reviewed, covering 14,480.61 hectares with a projected 16.5 lakh population and mixed land use across residential, commercial, industrial, tourism, green, transport, logistics and water-body categories.
• 2026 update: The agency preparing the master plan has since been told to carry out a new survey so the city plan covers both sides of the expressway; the area and number of villages are expected to increase again, with a one-month deadline for the revised draft.

In short: no area figure for New Agra is final. The 14,480.61-hectare figure reviewed in September 2025 is the most recent officially reported number, but a further revision was underway as of the most recent 2026 reports.

Total planned area vs. area developed so far

These are draft planning figures, not construction progress figures. A private consulting firm was commissioned to prepare the Detailed Project Report (DPR), after which zonal planning and land acquisition were to follow. YEIDA officials have said land acquisition would be expedited by allowing farmers to sell land voluntarily through the registry process rather than the standard Land Acquisition Act procedure. As of the most recent reporting, land acquisition for New Agra had not begun and no hectares had been physically developed — the project is still at the survey/DPR/board-review stage, so there is currently no meaningful "developed by target year" figure to report against the ~12,200–14,480 hectare planned total.

Land-use split (as reviewed, September 2025)

The land-use mix reviewed at YEIDA's 86th board meeting for the 14,480.61-hectare plan allocates residential (3,527.65 ha), commercial (648.24 ha), industrial (3,025.21 ha), micro-land use (812.62 ha), tourism (680.72 ha), green zones (2,325.63 ha), transportation (2,189.22 ha), logistics (158.84 ha) and water bodies (78.02 ha). Adding these categories gives roughly 13,446 hectares; the remaining balance of the 14,480.61-hectare total was not itemised in the publicly reported board summary (likely social infrastructure and other uses). The plan also includes a 75-hectare solar park and water-conservation works, including a 34,250 MLD reservoir along the Yamuna and Karwan rivers, plus educational, healthcare and socio-cultural facilities.

Earlier draft split (April 2025, 12,200-hectare version)

An earlier draft of the plan used a different area total and a different breakdown: 2,501 hectares (27.7% of the total area) for residential use; 1,813 hectares (20.11%) for industrial use; 447 hectares for mixed-use development combining residential, commercial and entertainment facilities; 340 hectares for a separate business zone with retail hubs, offices and commercial centres; 640 hectares reserved for tourism and entertainment, including theme parks, hotels, resorts, museums and cultural centres near the Yamuna River; 823 hectares as a buffer zone along the Yamuna and 485 hectares as green space; 434 hectares preserved as forest and agricultural land; and 330 hectares reserved for educational and healthcare infrastructure. This shows the land-use split itself has shifted as the total planned area grew from 12,200 to 14,480.61 hectares — treat both sets of numbers as draft, not final.

Population and employment targets

The April 2025 draft was designed to accommodate a population of 14.6 lakh and generate employment for 8.5 lakh people through tourism, industry and commercial development. The September 2025 review revised the population projection upward to 16.5 lakh for the larger, 14,480.61-hectare version of the plan; a correspondingly updated employment figure has not been separately reported. Because the site falls within the Taj Trapezium Zone, only white and green category industries will be allowed, to keep development pollution-free.

Planner, consultant and process

The earlier blueprint for New Agra Urban Centre was prepared by the US-based Tractwell Sky Group in association with Enzyme Company. YEIDA's board approved the concept plan and began the process of hiring a consultant in March 2024. A private consulting firm was later commissioned to prepare the Detailed Project Report (DPR) outlining the specifics of the city's infrastructure. YEIDA's regional office in Mathura is set to oversee the project's execution. Most recently, the agency preparing the master plan was instructed to conduct a fresh survey to cover both sides of the expressway, after which the area and village count are expected to change again.

Where to find official plan documents

YEIDA publishes its master plan material on its official website. The general master-plan overview page is at yamunaexpresswayauthority.com – Master Plan. A specific board-agenda document covering the Agra master plan report has also been published by the authority at Agra Master Plan Agenda with Report (YEIDA PDF). Because the plan is still being revised, readers should check YEIDA's board-meeting agendas and press releases for the latest approved figures rather than relying on any single news report.