Tata value homes get funds from IFC worth of $25 million for affordable housing project

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has entered into an agreement with Tata Value Homes to invest $25 million or Rs 160 crore into finance affordable housing projects for low-income households across India.

IFC's investment will provide the 100 per cent subsidiary of Tata Housing Development Co with long-term capital to develop about 16,800 homes over the next ten years, the company said in a release.

"Tata Value Homes will help lower and middle-income households and young professionals in urban and semi-urban areas access quality, affordable housing," said Vipul Prakash, IFC's Director, Global Corporate Coverage. "IFC's investment is the first step towards a longer-term partnership to facilitate the development of affordable housing in India and other emerging markets."

The investment will be for new affordable housing projects to be undertaken by Tata Value Homes.

"Our partnership with IFC will help increase availability of affordable, , value housing in India," said Brotin Banerjee, CEO and MD, Tata Housing. "Over the past few years, we have delivered over 5,000 apartments in the price range of $8,000 to $50,000 (Rs 500,000 to Rs 30 lakh) across various townships. This partnership with IFC will help us become India's largest home provider in the value and affordable housing segment by 2018-19."

In India, urbanization, the increasing number of nuclear families, and rising incomes are boosting demand for housing. There is an estimated shortage of more than 19 million housing units, primarily in underserved urban areas.

Tata Value Homes, established in 2010 focuses exclusively on value and affordable housing and has introduced two pan-India brands - Shubh Griha for value homes and New Haven for affordable homes. Some of the ongoing key projects of Tata Value Homes include Shubh Griha developed in Boisar near Mumbai and Ahmedabad, and New Haven is being developed at Boisar, Ahmedabad, and Bengaluru.