The Federal Government has described the commencement of operations at the first-ever Nigerian methanol and ammonium bicarbonate factory in Ondo State as a significant industrial investment with immense potential for national economic growth.
While emphasising that the facility, owned by a Chinese company, will boost local production of chemicals and fertilisers in Nigeria, the Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, emphasised that the initiative aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu‘s directive to harness Nigeria’s abundant natural gas resources to drive economic transformation and industrial development.
Ekpo, who was on a site tour and project inspection of the plant, located in the Ondo-Linyi Industrial Hub, Omotosho, Okitipupa Local Council Area of Ondo State, stated that the production of 100,000 metric tonnes per annum of methanol and 160,000 metric tonnes per annum of ammonium bicarbonate is a historic achievement in Nigeria.
The minister, who was accompanied on the tour by top officials of the NNPCL and key stakeholders in the gas industry, stressed that “I believe Mr President will be happy with what is going on here, that people are taking advantage of our natural gas resources to develop the economy of the nation.
“I’m really impressed, and the federal government will give them all the necessary encouragement to make sure that these projects move higher from where they are producing, I think, 100,000 metric tonnes to the estimated 500,000 metric tonnes in the year 2026.
“The relocation of this entire plant from China to Nigeria, and the achievement of 100 per cent mechanical completion as of March 2025, speak volumes about the determination, resilience, and technical capacity of the promoters of this project. It is a shining example of what is possible when government policy aligns with private sector initiative,” the minister said.
Also speaking during the tour, the Chairman of Chinese investors, Supertech Chemical Industry, Mr Yang Jijiang, said, “As a Chinese investor in Nigeria, we at Supertech are proud to contribute to Ondo State’s industrialisation drive and the broader economic development of Nigeria.
Also, the Principal Consultant to the Ondo-Linyi industrial hub, Alexander Ajipe, said the minister’s tour of the project is a moral booster for Chinese investors in Ondo State.
Earlier, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa hailed the minister’s visit and lauded the Ondo State Development and Investment Promotion Agency (ONDIPA) for removing bureaucratic bottlenecks that often discourage investors.
Aiyedatiwa highlighted the growing number of industrial projects facilitated through ONDIPA, including a 500,000-barrel-per-day modular refinery and a petrochemical plant for fertiliser production in the Ilaje Local Government Area.
The governor identified the Southern Senatorial District as the state’s economic hub, rich in oil, gas, and mineral resources, with ongoing projects such as the proposed Deep Seaport and the Ondo-Linyil Industrial Hub, where cassava is being processed into ethanol.
“We have to do that because that is the only way we can grow the economy of the state and provide jobs for our people. There is a limit to employment opportunities that the government can provide for the teeming youth population, but we believe that creating the enabling environment that is peaceful and investment-friendly will bring private investors because of the peculiar resources that we also have,” Aiyedatiwa stated.
