Hudco to fund 5 lakh affordable housing units in FY13

In 2012-13, Housing and Urban Development Corporation (Hudco) has set a target to finance construction of at least 5 lakh affordable housing units across the country. In 2011-12, the company financed 4.3 lakh units and more than 90 per cent of these have been for the economically weaker sections. The corporation aims to grow affordable housing finance loans by about 10 per cent annually for the next five years. It has already financed 3.8 lakh housing units this year. In order to attain this target, the corporation plans to coordinate with some state governments like Karnataka, Rajasthan, West Bengal to finance housing projects involving private developers. Hudco plans to focus more on development of these housing units in rural areas, with nearly 60 per cent expected to be in these regions. The state-run financier aims to disburse loans worth Rs 2,000 crore for facilitating construction of houses for the economically weaker sections through state government grants. It currently disburses a sizeable 15 per cent of its total loans to the private sector. In 2011-12, it reported a profit after tax of Rs 630.33 crore and Rs 297.43 crore for the six months ended September 30, 2012. Its net worth as of the last fiscal stands at Rs 5,988.89 crore.