Reposition To Meet Housing Needs Of Residents – Wike Urges APDCL

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT Nyeson Wike has called on the Abuja Property Development Company, APDCL to reposition itself to meet the housing needs arising from the current expansion in the Six area councils of the Territory.

Mr Wike who made the call at the 20th Anniversary Symposium of the Abuja Property Development Company Limited APDCL in Abuja said the Administration’s ongoing expansion of road and connectivity was opening up new district and creating opportunities for housing development.

Represented by the Group Managing Director of Abuja Investment Company Limited Ambassador Maureen Tamuno, the Minister said the housing challenge in the Federal Capital Territory should be ultimately measured by its impact on residents.

“Real estate is not about concrete, steel or glass. It is about households and families.”

According to him, a house represents security and dignity for ordinary citizens and was often the most significant investment of a family’s lifetime.

The minister urged the company to adopt modern construction technologies and methods capable of reducing building costs and shortening the period required to deliver housing projects.

He also called for the development of energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable homes, as well as mixed-income estates capable of accommodating civil servants and middle-income earners.

“Sustainability without affordability is incomplete. Innovation without inclusion is insufficient. Development without people at its core cannot endure.”

According to the Minister, the 20th anniversary of APDCL provided an opportunity for the company to reassess its role in addressing the housing needs of the FCT and determine how it could deliver greater social value in its next phase.

In his remarks, the Acting Managing Director of APDCL, Kolawole Aderogba, said the high cost of infrastructure remained one of the major factors driving up house prices in the FCT.

Mr Aderogba said infrastructure accounted for between 30 and 40 per cent of the total cost of housing development, urging government to provide infrastructure in housing areas to enable developers to reduce the cost of houses.

“If government can come to the aid of developers by providing infrastructure, it will reduce the cost of housing.”

He said APDCL was also working with mortgage institutions to enable prospective homeowners to pay an initial deposit while financing the balance through mortgages.

“The company had collaborated with the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria through the National Housing Fund to improve access to housing, particularly for civil servants.”