AfDB, ECOWAS sign agreement on Lagos-Abidjan highway

The African Development Bank and the Economic Community of West
African States Commission have signed an agreement for a study into
a 1,000 kilometre highway linking Cote d’Ivoire’s commercial
capital Abidjan to Lagos in Nigeria.

In a statement made available to our correspondent in Abuja on
Tuesday, the AfDB said that the agreement marked a new step in
building regional integration and trade.

The proposed Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway, a six-lane (3-lane
dual) motorway, will connect the countries via Ghana (Accra), Togo
(Lomé) and Benin (Cotonou).

According to the bank, the agreement signed for a study on the
technical, implementation and operational aspects of the project,
comes nearly five years after the presidents of Côte d’Ivoire,
Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria, signed a treaty on the
establishment of the highway in March 2014.

Jean Claude Brou, President of the ECOWAS Commission, Vice
President of the ECOWAS Commission Finda Koroma, the Minister of
Power, Works and Housing and Chairman of the Ministerial Steering
Committee for the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway Development
Programme, Babatunde Fashola, attended the ceremony, which took
place in Abuja, Nigeria.

European Union Head of Co-operation in Abuja, Kurt Cornelis,
together with other relevant stakeholders, were also present at the
event.

AfDB said that it had approved a financing package of $12.6m to
finance part of the study for the project and mobilised a Euro 9.1
million grant from the EU Commission, bringing the total financing
for the important study, to $22.7m.

The bank said, “By linking some of Africa’s largest and
economically dynamic cities, the road will promote cross-border
trade and integrate fast-growing economies within the ECOWAS.

“This is expected to contribute to reducing the poverty levels
of the population that depends on inter-regional trade for a
livelihood.”

Senior Director of the Bank’s Nigeria office, Ebrima Faal, said
that the bank remained fully committed to the 2020 ECOWAS
Vision.

He was quoted to have said, “We will work closely with the
public and private sectors to unlock new sources of growth for
Africa, while reducing inequality between countries and within
countries.

“Together, we can unlock the enormous potential of the West
African region and deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals for
the region.”