Arrangements are in top gear to kick-start exploration of the large deposits of Bitumen in Ondo State by an indigenous company, South West Bitumen (SWB) which has secured a 25-Year renewable operational mining license across a land mass of about14,800 Hectares in the Southern part of the Sunshine State.

Speaking during a working visit to the Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN; the Managing Director of South West Bitumen Company, Engineer Akin Odumakinde, disclosed that construction of a befitting operational base for the company would be completed within the next three months.

Engineer Odumakinde who told the governor that the SWB was ready to commence mining operation of bitumen in the state very soon having taken delivery of needed equipment and paid the agreed compensation to the families of landowners whose landed properties were within the landmass acquired for the project. He said on completion, several persons would be employed from the host communities across Odigbo, Irele and Okitipupa Local Government Areas.

He categorically stated that a Bitumen Research and Development Centre has been established at the Federal University of Technology in Akure and its affiliate to be at the state’s University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa.

At the inception of his administration, the governor had stated that the bitumen project was close to his heart adding that the product which the state has in large abundance would not only be harnessed but also bring about the desired change to the economic fortunes of the state.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/2019/06/18/bitumen-exploration-set-to-begin-in-ondo-state/

Why the delay after all these years