The government-backed and SBICAP Ventures-managed last-mile financing platform, Special Window for Completion of Construction of Affordable and Mid-Income Housing Projects (SWAMIH I), has invested around Rs 300 crore in realty developer Hubtown’s residential project in Ghatkopar suburb of Mumbai, said persons with direct knowledge of the development.
The project, Rising City, is near the Eastern Express Highway and it consists of six towers with a total of more than 700 apartments, of which 550 apartments are already sold.
“The definitive documents for the financing transaction were registered a few days ago and the first tranche of the funds have already been deployed for the purpose of the project completion that will provide relief to more than 550 homebuyers awaiting delivery of their apartments,” said one of the persons mentioned above.
The project was launched in 2013 but was delayed for delivery due to regulatory issues related to height approvals in 2016 while the project was scheduled to be delivered in 2020. However, in 2023, the project received all necessary approvals.
It was earlier a joint venture project between Hubtown, private equity fund IIRF, and three other developers. However, the other partners and fund has exited the project, and it is now being developed by Hubtown.
“This funding is a result of our focus to ensure a win-win solution for all stakeholders, and we are committed to completing the project in the fastest possible time,” Hubtown spokesperson said in response to ET’s email query while confirming the development.
Mumbai, the country’s largest and costliest property market, has been witnessing robust demand and sales activity over the last three and a half years. The uptrend and positive outlook have been helping in reviving several projects across the city.
ET’s email query to SWAMIH Fund remained unanswered until the time of going to press.
Nirmala Sitharaman, the finance minister, introduced the SWAMIH Fund in September 2019, designating it as a category II alternative investment fund. This initiative emerged in response to escalating worries about stalled projects adversely affecting homebuyers and posing potential risks to the banking system.
In December 2022, the government invested over Rs 5,000 crore in this fund, taking its final value close to Rs 15,530 crore. This is among the biggest corpus raised by any funds in the country.
India’s largest social impact fund’s investors include the government, which is the major sponsor of the fund, the State Bank of India (SBI), the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), and HDFC.
This fund has been a crucial part of the measures taken by the government to infuse liquidity in stressed projects to help homebuyers across the country get delivery of their stuck apartments.
The civic body said that as Metro works are ongoing at several locations in the city, the contractors are contractually liable to pay the property tax of the casting yard plot.
