First Project under SWAMIH Fund Wrapped Up

The Government-Backed SWAMIH Fund has announced its successful exit from the CCI Rivali Park Wintergreen project in Mumbai, which was the first beneficiary of the initiative to provide last-mile funding to affordable housing projects that were stalled due to lack of funds. The exit came five months after homeowners were given possession of completed flats under the Mumbai project. The Fund Special Window for Affordable & Mid-Income Housing or SWAMIH was set up in November 2019 with an estimated size of INR 25,000 crore. Experts said the exit would embolden the Fund and other private investors to take exposure to projects stuck due to lack of last-mile funding. The money realised through this investment can be used to support other projects, they said, and help unlock liquidity in the sector and boost core industries such as cement and steel. According to the Union Finance Ministry, SWAMIH has given final approval to 95 projects, sanctioning more than INR 9,500 crore to complete over 57,700 homes. It has already completed over 1,500 homes in seven projects and is on track to complete at least 10,000 homes every year, the Government said. “A loan sanction of INR 180 crore was given to the project in February 2020, out of which around INR 130 crore was utilised to complete the project with an IRR (internal rate of return) of around 12 per cent,” a Government official said.  The Fund is currently active in the Mumbai metropolitan region, National Capital Region and other metros including Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Pune and Bengaluru. Overall, the SWAMIH Fund has provided preliminary approvals to 139 projects that will help complete construction of further 77,610 houses.