IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and IFC Emerging Asia Fund (EAF) have partnered with the Puravankara Group to invest in the development of up to four residential projects under the 'Provident' brand that is focused on affordable housing.
Two of these four projects are planned in Kochi and Bengaluru with a saleable area of 4.5 million sf/ft. About 4,000 housing units will be built in the next five to seven years, with other projects to be identified by 2021.
IFC and EAF's partnership with Provident will allow for quick scaling-up of the company’s vision to provide access to high-quality affordable housing across India, especially among first-time homebuyers. It will help address the acute urban housing shortage in the country, with Indian cities needing to accommodate up to an estimated 18 million new urban dwellers per year.
Ashish Puravankara, Managing Director of Puravankara Group, said, "We are excited to partner with IFC and see a synergy in our values. This strategic partnership aims to address the growing demand for housing in India by providing customers with affordable quality homes. IFC's investment supplements Provident’s own investments in both existing and new developments. Provident’s use of pre-cast technology will see an acceleration in both time and superior quality homes. We hope this is the beginning of a long-term relationship with IFC."
IFC, together with EAF will invest up to Rs 5,560 million in special purpose vehicles set up by Puravankara Group. This will comprise of an investment of Rs 2400 million by IFC and an equal amount by EAF, along with a loan of Rs 760 million from IFC. The Kochi project will be designed as per IFC's green building certification system, EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies), company said on Thursday.
"In a post COVID world, the housing sector can play a key role in India. Financing affordable and green housing can protect jobs, preserve livelihoods, and address climate change while restarting economies," said Jun Zhang, Country Head-India at IFC. "We are happy to support a quality-driven company, and remain committed to helping build a more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient future for the country."
Shares of the company gained Rs 1.7, or 2.31%, to settle at Rs 75.30. The total volume of shares traded was 33,781 at the BSE (Thursday).