PROPERTY NEWS

Ore is a strategic town not only to Ondo State, but to the country as a whole. If its rustic agrarian mien does not confer on it a sense of importance, its strategic location and contributions to the economy of the state are well recognised.

To fully tap the socio-economic benefits that the town potentially has, the Ondo State Government is set to transform the sleepy town into a major commercial hub, travellers‘ home away from home and a tourism haven.

In the first instance, aggressive reconstruction work is currently going on at the popular Ore Junction, off the Sagamu-Benin Expressway to achieve the twin objective of decongesting the area and leaving behind a serene and aesthetically pleasing environment.

The junction, which serves as a major melting pot for different classes of people, connects other towns and villages in the state like Ondo and Akure and the South-South and South-East regions through Benin City in Edo State.

However, in recent times, Ore had symbolised the state of decay of public infrastructure. For instance, on a Saturday in November 2009, Governor Olusegun Mimiko and the visiting Minister of Works, Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Hassan Lawal, had a dose of what travellers who ply the road usually experienced on the expressway at Ore Junction.

For over two hours, the convoy could not move beyond the junction in order for the minister and his entourage to inspect repair work on the expressway in anticipation of heavy traffic during the Christmas festivities. Not until Mimiko and Lawal came down and turned themselves into emergency traffic controllers did the situation improve.

With the redesigning of the junction and the overall government‘s plan to make the town a hub of economic activities, indigenes and those familiar with Ore are upbeat about its impending transformation.

On Monday, the governor performed the ground breaking ceremony for the Ore Sunshine Mega City Plaza on 153 hectares of virgin land measuring one kilometre by 1.5 kilometres to accommodate a world class industrial and commercial complex that is being touted to be the first in the country.

Mimiko explained, "The conceptualisation of this project emanated from a deep reflection and analysis of the traffic bottlenecks being experienced regularly at Ore. We decided, therefore, to turn the challenges to opportunities by our resolve to build an effective and functional mega travel plaza with several facilities like parking lots, shopping malls, hospitals, five-star hotel, warehouses, helipad, police station, banks, prayer grounds, restaurants, fire stations etc."

It is anticipated that the project will boost economic growth and development of the town, which serves as a melting pot for all ethnic groups in the country. The first phase is to be completed in 15 months.

As part of the strategic partnership, it was gathered that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation would for the first time invest in about 2,000 residential housing units within Ore Sunshine Mega City Plaza.

It was further gathered that the corporation also had plans to build a 24-pump mega station within the plaza to serve the residents and travellers on the Sagamu-Benin Expressway.

The new town, according to Mimiko, will serve as the gateway to Ondo State‘s industrialisation by having its own power plant and tapping from the benefits of the industrial park and deep sea port at the Olokola Free Trade Zone and the Omotosho Gas Plant.

About three weeks ago, the state government took delivery of the Ondo Gas Master Plan to power its industries by tapping into the abundant natural gas resources to improve the state‘s economy and better the lives of its people. The plan was prepared by Shell Nigeria Gas Limited.

Justifying the Ore Sunshine Mega City Plaza project, the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Chief Kunle Ashaolu, said that Ore was like a sleeping giant despite its modal point, noting that it had a lot of potential for greatness and value needed to be added to it.

The Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on the Environment, Mr. Bola Ilori, explained that the beautification of the Ore Junction was necessary because it was the gateway to the South-South and South-Eastern regions of the country, noting that whatever happened there would reflect on the image of Ondo State and the country.