Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) on Thursday initiated the second phase of land pooling for the Amaravati capital project, advancing a renewed state-backed drive to revive long-delayed construction.

The process began in Yandrai village of Amaravati mandal, where farmer Namburi Balaram handed over 4 acres for the capital in the presence of municipal administration minister P Narayana and MLA Bhashyam Praveen.

Officials said land pooling in this phase will cover four villages, with Yandrai becoming the first to complete initial documentation. A village meeting was held to brief farmers on compensation norms, policy continuity and the development roadmap. Minister Narayana told the media at the Secretariat that the capital’s progress had stalled in previous years due to unpaid contractor bills under the earlier YSRCP government. Once dues were cleared, he said, heavy rains further hampered work.

He added that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has now approved a broad capital-region strategy that includes smart industrial zones, an international airport and a large international sports city.

The proposed sports city will be developed on 2,500 acres voluntarily contributed by farmers under the new round of pooling. Narayana said the government will follow the same compensation and policy framework used during the earlier phase of Amaravati development, emphasising continuity and clarity for participating farmers. He said the government will prioritise trunk infrastructure, particularly four- and six-lane arterial corridors, to accelerate the capital’s physical build-out. Work on the sports city is expected to begin within a year of completing land pooling and finalising project designs, he added.

Earlier this week, the municipal administration and urban development (MA&UD) department issued orders authorising the CRDA to acquire a total of 16,666.57 acres across seven villages.

Of this, 16,562.52 acres are patta lands and 104.01 acres are assigned lands. Another 3,828.30 acres of government land fall within the notified capital-region zones and will be integrated into the development plan.

The state government views the second phase as critical to restoring momentum in Amaravati’s capital infrastructure programme and establishing a predictable framework for land mobilisation, investment attraction and phased construction.