Mahindra Lifespace gets $50mn IFC investment

MUMBAI: Real estate developer Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd Monday announced a strategic partnership with International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, in which the latter would invest $50 million to develop industrial parks across Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. In a filing to the BSE, the Mahindra Group company said the partnership would involve investments across Mahindra Lifespaces’ existing and upcoming industrial park projects, with its first investment in an approximately 350acre industrial park near Ahmedabad.

“The proposed i ndustrial parks will provide impetus to the ‘Make In India’ initiative, and will be located in areas that have significant potential for large-scale industrial infrastructure creation,” the company said. While the industrial parks would cater to both large businesses as well as medium and small enterprises, developments undertaken by the partnership are expected to augment the local manufacturing ecosystem in each region, it said.

“Industrial parks or special economic zones are globally recognized as engines for economic growth and development. Development of these parks will attract private investments and provide a fillip to several flagship initiatives of government of India and create jobs,” said Jun Zhang, country head for India, IFC in a statement. Mahindra Lifespace currently operates two industrial townships —Mahindra World City Chennai and Mahindra World City Jaipur. Both these townships span over 4,000 acres and house around 130 Indian and multinational companies.

Besides, the Mumbai-based firm is currently developing around 9.60 million sq. ft of residential projects across the country including in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, NCR, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai. “Sustainable industrial ecosystems are key enablers for attracting investment in manufacturing and fast-tracking infrastructure led development.

Mahindra Lifespaces is delighted to partner with International Finance Corporation to drive this transformation agenda forward through a network of industrial clusters across the country,” said Anita Arjundas, managing director, Mahindra Lifespace.