Members of the newly inaugurated board of the Abuja Property Development Company (APDC) have expressed commitment to drive profit for the FCT Administration, while meeting the objectives for which it was established.
Chairman of the APDC Board, who is also the publisher of Blueprint Newspapers, Alhaji Mohammed Idris Malagi, disclosed that the company will deploy innovative approaches to drive its revenue.
The chairman, who spoke with journalists shortly after his inauguration, hinted that some of the projects the company will be focusing on include kick-starting the Centenary City project, construction of district hospitals, new hotel and conference facilities, among several others.
Already, he said, FCT Minister, Malam Musa Bello has given the initial approval for these projects, some of which he said are currently undergoing regulatory processes.
“As soon as those ones are done, we are already identifying those to help us in achieving those projects. We’ll be meeting with them and very soon we’ll make our roadmap known to the public,” he said.
Malagi, who is returning for a second term as chairman of the APDC Board, added that the company has successfully settled most of its financial obligations in his first tenure, and so will focus on stabilising and growing the company, going forward.
His words: “The primary thing is, we need to stabilize and grow the company first. I want to take you back to when we came here. The company was really in a very bad shape; owing so many contractors. But I am glad to say that all that is passed.
“During the first tenure, we were able to bring the company back to profitability. Now we can say that APDC is not owing anybody, as it is standing on its feet and growing. As you can see, we are standing in the conference facility of the newly built headquarters.
“When we came in, it was just carcass. But now it’s completely built; as you can see, very beautifully designed. So in terms of revenue, so much will come but for now it’s to grow on what we have met on ground.”