The government is set to soon launch the SWAMIH-2 Fund, aimed at providing last-mile financing to complete stalled housing projects and deliver relief to nearly one lakh middle-class homebuyers, according to sources familiar with the development.

The proposed Rs 150-billion fund is expected to be operationalised shortly, with the government finalising its mandates and operational framework. The initiative seeks to unlock investments in commercially viable but stalled residential projects and accelerate their completion.

For this purpose, the government has already earmarked Rs 15 billion as seed capital for the Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income Housing (SWAMIH) Fund in the Union Budget 2025–26. Once approvals are in place, the new fund is expected to provide structured last-mile funding support to projects that are stuck due to financial stress.

The SWAMIH-2 Fund builds on the success of the first SWAMIH Fund, which was announced by the Centre in November 2019 as a stress fund to revive stalled housing projects across the country. Structured as an Alternative Investment Fund (AIF), the original SWAMIH Fund provides priority debt financing for completing stressed residential projects, with SBI Ventures acting as the Investment Manager. The Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, serves as the Sponsor of the Fund.

Under SWAMIH Fund-1, more than 55,000 dwelling units in stressed housing projects have already been completed, with another 30,000 homes targeted for delivery over the next three to four years. The fund has so far raised Rs 155.30 billion and focuses on RERA-registered affordable and mid-income housing projects.

The fund is widely regarded as a lender of last resort, as it supports first-time developers, established developers with stalled or stressed projects, projects with litigation issues, and even those involving developers with poor track records or non-performing accounts.

A study by data analytics firm PropEquity, commissioned by SBI Ventures in 2019, had estimated that around 1,500 projects involving 4.58 lakh housing units were stalled nationwide, requiring funding of about Rs 550 billion for completion.

News source: Outlook Money