Durgapur to get 1,300 affordable housing units

Kolkata: InfraCo Asia Development Pte Limited (InfraCo Asia), a part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), on Tuesday announced the signing of a Joint Investment and Development Agreement (JIDA) for bringing up more than 1,300 affordable housing units for the lower-income residents

of Durgapur.

The project will be implemented by Equicap Asia, InfraCo Asia's contracted Developer Team for South Asia, and its local partner, Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Limited (BAPL).

The Durgapur Affordable Housing Project marks InfraCo Asia's first investment in affordable housing. With this project, InfraCo Asia aims to catalyse further investment in affordable housing development in the smaller regions of India, which have lagged behind metropolitan cities like Delhi and Mumbai, in offering quality housing at affordable prices. The project is closely aligned with the policy priorities of the state government and the Centre both of which provide housing subsidies targetting lower income households.

Durgapur is on a sustainable path for growth, with quality employment, transport, education, and medical facilities planned or already in place.

The Durgapur Affordable Housing project is expected to be one of the first Grade A organised residential development projects targetted toward the Economically Weaker Section (EWS)and Lower Income Group (LIG) in the region, and will provide more than 6,000 people with better housing at affordable prices, with proximity to services and job opportunities in Durgapur.

InfraCo Asia CEO Allard Nooy said: "The Durgapur Affordable Housing project will be InfraCo Asia's first foray into the affordable housing sector. We are excited to apply our development expertise and capital to de-risking a project that will both provide lower-income families with access to better-quality apartments and spur future housing development in a growing area."

Beyond the direct employment provided through the building and operation of the housing project, a wider economic impact is expected: industrial and commercial services serving the residential area will develop, creating additional permanent jobs for people in the lower

income groups.