The Government of India and Asian Development Bank (ADB) today signed a $150 million loan to provide access to inclusive, resilient, and sustainable housing for the urban poor in the state of Tamil Nadu.

The signatories to the loan agreement for Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable Housing for Urban Poor Sector Project in Tamil Nadu were Shri Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, signed for the Government of India, and Mr. Takeo Konishi, Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission, who signed for the ADB.

After signing the loan agreement, Shri Mishra said that the project is aligned with the Government of India’s development priorities and policies on urban sector development, particularly the flagship program PMAY-Housing for All (Urban), and will address housing shortage among poor urban dwellers in Tamil Nadu with provision of housing to eligible families.

“Rapid urbanization and growth in Tamil Nadu has created a housing shortfall particularly for low-income households,” said Mr. Konishi. “The project will provide access to affordable housing infrastructure and services to vulnerable and disadvantaged households and catalyze private sector investment in affordable housing”, he added.

Nearly half of Tamil Nadu’s 72 million population lives in urban areas making it one of the most urbanized states in India. Through the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board, the project will construct housing units in nine different locations and relocate about 6,000 households vulnerable to natural hazards to safer locations. It will also help Tamil Nadu’s Directorate of Town and Country Planning develop regional plans to map the state’s economic and infrastructure development including affordable housing, environmental protection, disaster risk management, and gender.

A portion of ADB’s assistance will be invested by the state government as equity into the Tamil Nadu Shelter Fund to catalyze private sector financing and support investments mainly in industrial housing and working women’s hostels for low-income and migrant workers.

In addition, ADB will provide a $1.5 million technical assistance (TA) grant from its Technical Assistance Special Fund to support the capacity building of government agencies responsible for delivering affordable housing and regional planning in Tamil Nadu. The TA will document successful approaches to affordable housing delivery, including the graduation programme for vulnerable relocated beneficiaries, that can be adopted in other cities and countries.

Affordable housing financing expands access for urban poor through government-ADB loan and catalyses private investment. A sovereign-backed loan agreement funds the Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable Housing for Urban Poor Sector Project in Tamil Nadu to expand access to affordable housing, construct units at nine sites, relocate vulnerable households from hazard-prone areas, and deploy state equity through a shelter fund to catalyze private investment; ADB-provided technical assistance will build government capacity, document replicable delivery approaches including a graduation programme, and support regional planning, environmental protection, and disaster risk management.