Backbone Infrastructure Ltd (BINL) has secured $50 billion in funding to build a 500,000 barrels-per-day refinery and associated free trade zone in Ilaje, Ondo State, under a joint venture with NEFEX Holdings, Canada.
The agreement was formalized in a Memorandum of Understanding signed earlier this year between BINL and the Ondo State Investment Promotion Agency (ONDIPA). The project will span a 1,471-hectare Sunshine Free Trade Zone in the Ilaje area.
BINL says the scale of the project and the capital commitment mark one of the most ambitious private sector-led energy infrastructure plans in Nigeria in recent times. The refinery is expected to ease Nigeria’s dependence on fuel imports and lower domestic energy costs.
If completed, this refinery could significantly boost local crude utilization, create thousands of jobs, and attract further industrial clustering around the free zone. Observers note that success will hinge on regulatory support, stability of funding flows, and alignment with national energy policy.
Critics caution that large energy investments always carry risks—from cost overruns to permitting delays. But for states like Ondo, this proposal could deepen economic development and local value addition in downstream oil operations.
Local communities and stakeholders in the Ilaje region will be keeping close watch, as land use, environmental impact, and compensation plans will all come into sharper focus as the project progresses.
