OFFICE OF THE ECONOMIC ADVISER TO THE GOVERNOR

A World of Opportunities Awaits You in Ogun State…

“It’s a bright new day in Ogun State. The Gateway State is changing for the better, to become the investment destination of choice not only in Nigeria but also on the West Coast of Africa. The investment possibilities are limitless. Clearly, Ogun State is now the place to be”.

These were the words of Otunba Gbenga Daniel, Governor of Ogun State at the State Economic and Investment Summit in that held in November 2003. The Ogun State Government is now matching these words with action. Investment opportunities have been identified and an enabling environment for business growth is being nurtured.

Consistent with its credo of “business unusual”, the Administration of Governor Daniel recognizes the role of the private sector as a key driver of growth. Government’s role is to set broad policies, assure safety of lives and properties, secure the sanctity of contracts, develop and upgrade of infrastructure and provide social services.

Our Programmes are designed to make Ogun State a safe haven for investors by improving the climate of doing business. The following incentives are already in place to help existing and new businesses grow:

NOW IS THE TIME TO SIGN ON …
Lucrative projects are taking off one after the other, with Government providing the initial push to jump-start the process in many sectors, including…

1.        AGRICULTURE, with emphasis on expanding the pool of trained farmhands and rejuvenating the ageing farm population. The Odeda Farm Institute has been resuscitated and new farm settlements are being established in addition to existing ones. The availability of extensive fertile soils of varying geo-climatic nature makes the State very suitable for the cultivation of both cash and food crops. Large scale mechanized farming, animal husbandry and fish farming are largely untapped areas. Opportunities also abound in Forestry, Cashew Processing, Rubber, Kolanut, Cassava, Tomatoes, Poultry-Based Industry, Cocoa, Rice, Oil Palm, Maize, Pineapple, Sugar Cane, citrus and Coffee. Food processing and preservation present opportunities for great returns on investment.
2.        TOURISM, with emphasis of franchising of lucrative sites, sports development and development of support services. Specific investment opportunities include:

Olumo Rock Development, the state’s foremost tourist site which is now undergoing modernization, with a design consisting of Hotel, Games Hall with facilities for indoor sports, a heavy-duty escalator and a glass elevator running the different levels of the rock. Opportunities for downstream services also abound.

Hilltop Golf Resort, Abeokuta, seeking investors to develop the Abeokuta Golf Course into a composite recreation centre with hotel facilities, lake for water sports, horse riding, walkways, etc.

Ovan Dam Resort, with terrain, vegetation and surroundings suited for the construction of a Safari Lodge and Wild Life Park designed to meet the demands of business and leisure. The resort will also feature a large swimming pool, food and beverage outlet, Sundowner Cocktails including bush walks, bush dinner, bird watching, indigenous dances etc, Gymnasium, Conference facilities and Wild Life.

Other tourist sites for available for investor interest include Yemoji Resort Centre, Tongeji Island Resort and Amusement Park, and the Bilikisu Sungbo Shrine, which is in the process of being designated as a World Heritage Site.

3.        GATEWAY CITY, a stretch of 22,000 hectares of prime real estate spanning 30 kms from Isheri on the Lagos-Ogun border and Sagamu Interchange on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria’s busiest highway. Opportunities exist for the development of housing estates, office complexes, hospitals, amusement parks, schools, etc. to take advantage of the new City’s proximity to the congested Lagos metroplis.

4.        THE CARGO AIRPORT, presents huge investment possibilities in the aviation and ancillary industries. The airport is strategically located in the precincts of an international market and abuts the nation’s two busiest highways for easy access to other parts of Nigeria and the ECOWAS sub-region. Investment windows in this project include new town development, construction of airstrip for light to medium cargo and commercial air traffic, helicopter shuttle, aircraft maintenance facilities and training schools, pilots/crew training school, hospitality and resort complex, petroleum products depot, connecting Light Rail Hub/Terminal, warehousing services and cargo deport, parcel and light mail delivery/sorting services, travelers inn/bus terminus, housing scheme etc.

5.        THE OGUN/ONDO FREE TRADE ZONE AND DEEP SEA PORT is a 20,000- hectare industrial enclave, designed to facilitate the establishment of export-oriented industries through the administration of Special Regulatory and Fiscal Incentives on Tax, Customs and Immigration policies at globally competitive levels. The Project focuses on International Trade, Transit Trade, Bonded Storage and Export processing as well as other ancillary businesses including Banking, Offshore Finance, Insurance, Futures Market, Commodity Exchange, Wharf Management, Haulage, Forex Operations, IT and related businesses. Key Oil sector operators are already taking interest in the project

6.        LAGO (PARADISE) ISLAND is a millionaires’ haven located on the south coast of Ogun State, on the Lekki Lagoon, abutting the Bight of Benin and the Free Trade Zone. Easily accessible from Maba village through a new road, the Island is connected to the mainland by two bridges. The Master Plan for the project is ready and work is about to commence. Operators in the Free Trade Zone and Deep Sea Port would find the Island a prime spot for staff residential quarters and leisure facilities.

7.        OPPORTUNITIES IN ENERGY, OIL AND GAS: It has been established that Crude Oil occurs in Ogun State in commercial quantity in Tongeji Island and Ogun Waterside. The State Government is committed to transforming the various initiatives in the Oil, Energy and Natural Resources sector into real development environment in the State and seeks interested investors with technical and financial capabilities to partner with the Gateway Oil and Gas Company Limited, which has been established to spearhead this venture. Opportunities also exist for the establishment of Independent Power Plants to address the huge shortfall in domestic and industrial power supply in the State.

8.        SOLID MINERAL RESOURCES abound in Ogun State and a promising environment for business is being fostered by the Daniel Administration, through policy incentives. Calcium Carbonate and non-metalic minerals such as tar-sands, useable as fuels and industrial rocks occur abundantly while Limestone, Feldspars, Quartz, Phosphate, Mica, Gypsum, Glass Sand, Tar Sand, Clay and Decorative Stones have also been identified to be present in large, commercial quantities. Opportunities exist in Fertilizer Blending, especially the establishment of NPK blending and granulating plants (30 metric tons/ltr) to address the huge gaps in domestic and regional supply.

9.        TRANSPORT-SECTOR INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES include the construction of livable Truck Villages along major arteries, Bus Service Enhancement Scheme, Rail Projects, Water Ferry Transport, and franchised traffic management and passenger convenience services under the OGUN TRAVEL CARE Scheme. Prospects of cost-recovery and returns on investment are very high under new incentives put in place by the State Government.

10.      NEW OPPORTUNITIES BELT: The dualisation of the Sagamu-Abeokuta Road, a 45-km stretch, is nearing completion. The opening up of this belt will heighten the tempo of social and economic activities on the approaches to the State capital and across the State. The proximity of this road to the busy Lagos-Ibadan and Sagamu-Benin Expressways presents great opportunities for investors in cold storage for hinterland markets as well as haulage, housing development, schools, industrial parks, hospitability and recreation and other businesses. The dualisation will also open up the agricultural belt of the Owode, Ofada, Iperu, Ogere-Remo axis for busines

The business potentials in the new Ogun State are limitless. Are you interested in these prospects, or do have other areas of interest outside of the ones listed above and for which you have the resources and proficiency?

Come and be a part of the new prosperity that Governor Gbenga Daniel is creating in Ogun State, Nigeria’s Gateway State.

For details and enquiries, please contact

Office of the Special Adviser
Economic Planning and Development
Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
Telephone: +234-39-243342, +234-2-2002077; 0803-371-2686
Fax: +234-2-2002066; 234-39-242967

E-mail: econdev@ogunstate.gov.ng
economicplanning@hotmail.com