India's green building initiative: IFC to invest over $1 bn in next 5 years

IFC has planned an investment of around $5-6 billion for the next five years

With a view to support India's green building initiative, International Finance Corporation (IFC) is planning to invest over $1 billion in next five years, a senior official on Tuesday said.

IFC, a member of World Bank, has planned an investment of around $5-6 billion for the next five years in India for participating in the country's climate change programs, its Country Head (India) Jun Zhang told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.

"We will be investing around 20 per cent of this amount which is over $1 billion in creating green buildings," he said.

He also said affordable and sustainable homes is a key part of IFC's strategy in India.

"We invest and advice housing finance companies, developers and have also helped leading private sector banks to issue green bonds to finance green homes," Zhang said.

The remaining amount of the $5-6 billion IFC will invest in India's programs like renewable energy among others, he said.

IFC has so far invested $2 billion in sustainable development projects in India since 2005, he said, adding it will continue to participate in the country's various development initiatives. 

"Given the scale of the challenge we want to influence the ecosystem so we can build a more sustainable and greener
India," he added.

IFC is focused on the private sector in emerging markers and is working with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, he said.