By Fatima Muraina
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Ondo state Development and Investment Promotion Agency (ONDIPA) has projected that it would generate N600million revenue to the coffers of the state government this year.

The Secretary of the ONDIPA, Mr Emmanuel Omomowo made the projection in an interview with The Hope in Akure,.

Omomowo said the agency surpassed its targeted IGR  last year with about 300 percent when it made N118million against the N53million target given.

For this year, N260 million target have been given for the agency to generate.

According to the Head of Investment promotion, Dr Adeola Richard Alonge, the Agency knows the importance of IGR to the state government which he declared was a major reason for the establishment of the agency.

Alonge was optimistic that the agency will meet the projected value of the sum earmarked for it before the second quarter of the year.

He said the agency has since inception in 2017 contributed to the development of the state pointing to creating and promoting the air transport system within the state.

It was disclosed that the agency through the present administration increased the flight schedules to Abuja and Lagos from three times to six times a week for Abuja route and created that of Lagos on a daily basis.

The routes, it was revealed were not commercially viable before which made the state to give an initial sponsorship before they are now viable.

“ONDIPA has done that because of the rate of kidnapping, to avoid the idea of investors travelling long hours before reaching Akure which has open up the state for investors”, he noted.

He said the Agency has put up some data in place to present to the Federal government for approval of the deep-sea port any moment from now.

He confirmed that a lot of memorandum of Understanding has been signed with credible investors for the Sugar cane value chain project, Ethanol, egg powderization , rice project and a host of others.

While speaking on investment promotion in the state , Alonge said that government is promoting numerous things but particularly those that have economic value.

Among those things promoted are oil palm, bitumen, lime stone, cocoa, and rubber to mention just few.

“We have various products and our investment does not end at a particular table. We are promoting the lime stone so as to get cement factory, oil Palm to get more investment in the oil Palm sector, cocoa value addition for chocolate, we have rubber and we are encouraging the rubber company”, he stressed.