Ondo State, Investors Kick-Start 500,000bpd Refinery, Free Trade Zone Project

|By Babatunji Wusu

The Ondo State government, in partnership with major investment firms, has launched the process to build a 500,000-barrels-per-day refinery and a 1,471-hectare Sunshine Free Trade Zone in Ilaje. The move follows the creation of Sunshine Joint Venture Infrastructure Limited, the vehicle through which the multi-billion-naira project will be executed.

The joint venture brings together Backbone Infrastructure Limited (BINL), NEFEX Petro Line Limited and Cooldeal Limited, working with the Ondo State Investment Promotion Agency (ONDIPA) to accelerate the state’s industrial drive.

BINL’s Vice President, Corporate Services, Barr. Wale Adekola, said officials from the partner companies, alongside consultants including China Harbour, China Engineering and Honeywell UOP, inspected the project sites in Ilaje with ONDIPA executives as part of the early development phase.

During the tour, the delegation met key stakeholders, paying a courtesy visit to the Olugbo of Ugbo Kingdom, Oba Frederick Obateru Akinruntan, who pledged full royal support and assured the investors of safety and cooperation from the kingdom.

The joint venture team, led by BINL Chairman and former Senate President Ken Nnamani, also visited Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who applauded the investors for choosing Ondo as their preferred destination. Aiyedatiwa said the project would fast-track industrial growth and promised a conducive environment for business.

ONDIPA and the JV partners reaffirmed their commitment not only to delivering the refinery and free trade zone but also to providing social infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, potable water and settlement centres for host communities.

The refinery and the Sunshine Free Trade Zone—expected to be one of the largest in the region—are projected to transform Ondo State into a major industrial hub.