Dangotes refinery raises LFTZ land value by 900%

As preliminary work begins on the site earmarked for the construction of a refinery by the Dangote Group as well as the springing up of other business ventures in the Lekki Free Trade Zone, prices of land in the area have drastically increased, MAUREEN AZUH writes

The prices of land in Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos State have risen considerably since the Dangote Group indicated interest in building a refinery in the area.

Although preliminary work, including clearing of the site, has barely begun, the prices of land in the areas surrounding the Lekki Free Trade Zone have gone up by over 900 per cent.

The Chairman, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, had in 2013 disclosed plans to build a 400,000-barrel-per-day crude oil refinery, and subsequently awarded the contract to an Indian company, Engineers India Limited.

Notwithstanding the presence of other companies in the area, such as Raffle Oil LFTZ Enterprises, Obat Oil, Progress Marine Limited, a shipping company that has also bought hundreds of hectares of land in the area for its tank farm development, Eko Resort and a few others, the proposed refinery is expected to signal the commencement of the multi-billion naira investment in the zone.

At the groundbreaking of the refinery, Governor Babatunde Fashola had said the LFTZ was beginning to take shape with the coming of investors.

Tank farms and major refineries are springing up to service the demands of the country and make room for export. The refineries create a major selling point and release of the opportunities that lie ahead in this zone, create opportunities for the local people and the potential for Lagos and the Nigerian economy, the governor had said.

According to findings by our correspondent, the current opportunity for the local people is coming in the form of the soaring land prices.

Some of the residents said over 3,000 plots of land, stretching from the access road towards the lagoon, were acquired for the Dangote refinery.

An indigene of the area and a resident of Okuraye, Mr. Daniel Adeyanju, who spoke with our correspondent on the development, said some plots of land that were selling between N200,000 and N300,000 before the advent of the refinery, were now going for as much as N3m.

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Dangotes refinery raises LFTZ land value by 900%