Target 950 jobs, N480 billion yearly revenue, global links

Ondo State Government has signed a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreement with PyVee Limited, a Nigerian company with United States-linked technical partners, to develop West Africa’s first and Africa’s second fully integrated titanium value-chain processing plant.

The move aimed to position the state at the centre of a new strategic minerals corridor connecting Nigeria to American aerospace and defence supply chains.

The agreement, facilitated through the Ondo State Development and Investment Promotion Agency (ONDIPA), was signed at the Office of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Governor’s Office, Alagbaka, Akure, under the administration of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa.

However, the state government, under the terms of the partnership, has allocated 100.079 hectares of land at Alape, along Igbokoda–Ugbonla Road in Ilaje Local Council area of the state, a site selected for its access to lagoon, gas infrastructure for captive power generation, and proximity to the Deep Seaport and export logistics along the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Corridor.

The SSG, Dr Taiwo Fasoranti, who signed on behalf of the state, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to seeing the project through from land allocation to commissioning and positioning Ondo State as a serious destination for foreign direct investment in the mining and materials sector.

Also, Chief Executive Officer of ONDIPA, Emmanuel Omomowo, spoke on the agency’s role in structuring and de-risking the transaction for both parties, from due diligence on PyVee’s technical and financial capacity to the equity-for-land arrangement that gives the state a stake in the SPV.

Omomowo, while describing the deal as a template for future PPP-driven industrial projects in the state, said: “By taking equity instead of cash for the land, Ondo State isn’t just a host; we’re a partner whose fortunes rise with the project’s success, and that’s the model we want to replicate across future investments.”

Founder and CEO of PyVee Limited, a native of Ogun State and a chemical engineering Ph.D. holder from Purdue University, Dr Peter Oladipupo, said the agreement marks an important step in moving the titanium-processing project from development toward implementation.