Washington D.C./ Mexico City, October 4, 2012
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, signed an agreement to provide financing of up to $105 million to Mexican homebuilder Urbi Desarrollos Urbanos to build energy-efficient homes for low-income people across the country. IFC is providing $50 million and through the IFC-Canada Climate Change Program, Canada is contributing an additional $20 million to help expand sustainable housing in Mexico, cut energy costs, and fight climate change. IFC is planning to raise an additional $35 million through a syndicated loan from international commercial banks.
IFC’s financing will enable Urbi, one of Mexico’s largest homebuilders, to construct nearly 36,000 affordable “green” homes annually by 2017. It will also support about 4,500 jobs every year. The housing program will help address Mexico’s current housing deficit of 9 million units, most of which are in the low-income segment of the population. The government of Canada’s instrumental contribution helps make the installation of solar photovoltaic technology possible.
“IFC’s support will strengthen Urbi’s innovative approach and business strategy to continue developing sustainable housing models,” said Cuauhtémoc Pérez, Urbi's CEO. “It shows IFC’s trust in Urbi and we expect this to be the beginning of a long-term partnership in which Urbi will benefit from IFC’s expertise in sustainability.”
The timing of the project is critical because demand for homes in Mexico is expected to grow to 11 million in the next 20 years—with 70 percent coming from low-income families. The new homes will have modern technologies to ensure energy efficiency. Some will also generate electricity for residential use through solar-power technology.
“The global challenge of climate change requires a global solution, and Canada is proud to support environmental efforts such as these,” said the Honorable Peter Kent, Canada’s Environment Minister.
Oscar Chemerinski, IFC Director for manufacturing, agribusiness, and services in Latin America and the Caribbean, and Sub-Saharan Africa, said: “Our support to Urbi is consistent with IFC’s focus on strengthening business models that help mitigate or adapt to climate change, while improving the quality of life of people in developing countries. Urbi is an important player in the housing market in Mexico, and its success will have a broader impact by demonstrating the viability of sustainable housing to home buyers and other developers in Mexico and Latin America.”
IFC’s investment is aligned with the Mexican government’s National Development Plan, which recognizes and supports the instrumental role of low-income housing in economic and social development. The investment is also consistent with the government’s new programs that promote the construction of green housing.
About the IFC-Canada Climate Change Program
The IFC-Canada Climate Change Program promotes private sector financing for clean energy projects. Canada’s financing to IFC for this program is part of its overall fast-start financing contribution for 2010-2011. Under the Copenhagen Accord, developed countries committed to provide fast-start financing of almost $30 billion for 2010-2012 to support climate-change mitigation and adaptation in developing countries. As part of Canada’s commitment to support climate change action in developing countries, Canada is contributing $1.2 billion Canadian dollars to new and additional climate-change financing over three years (fiscals 2010-2013).
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, mobilizing capital in international financial markets, and providing advisory services to businesses and governments. In FY12, our investments reached an all-time high of more than $20 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs, spark innovation, and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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About Urbi
Urbi Desarrollos Urbanos S.A.B. de C.V. (MSE: URBI*) is the leading housing developer in Mexico. Currently, Urbi is present in 39 cities, covering the main metropolitan areas and the most dynamic medium-size cities in the country. In 30 years of operations, Urbi has developed over 400,000 homes, and has always conducted its business with a strong emphasis on financial performance, making it one of the most profitable companies in the sector. For more information, visit
www.urbi.com
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