Heads of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) member states met on Saturday, September 22 to finalise and approve the design of Lagos-Abidjan Corridor Highway Development Project in preparation for initiation of the procurement process at its next meeting.
Gatekeepers News reports that the meeting was held in Lagos. It was chaired by Nigeria’s Minister of Works, Sen. Dave Umahi.
The project which is expected to cost 15 billion dollars and deepen regional economic integration, is currently in its study phase, indicating that detailed research, planning, and design are still ongoing.
Umahi highlighted the history and progress of Lagos-Abidjan Highway Development Project, adding that the project, initiated in 2013, had received significant funding support from African Development Bank.
The minister said that the current meeting aimed to finalise and approve the design of the project, as it was nearing a crucial stage where concrete steps towards implementation could be taken.
He noted that the heads of member states of ECOWAS have met to agree on the project and that various stages of development, including design, environmental impact assessment, and funding mechanisms, had been ongoing for the past 11 years.
He said, “The design of the project, ESIA design, conceptualisation, funding mechanisms have been on in the past 11 years.”
“As of today, we are going to listen to the committee of experts in terms of the design and so we believe that we will finalise and approve the design today, and then we set the goal for procurement, probably in our next meeting.”
Minister of Roads and Highways, Ghana, Mr. Francis Boakye while speaking, emphasised the importance of infrastructure, particularly roads, in driving socio-economic development.
He highlighted how highways could facilitate trade, tourism, and economic activities, using United States’ economic boom as an example.
Boakye spoke further on the significance of Lagos-Abidjan highway project in promoting economic integration within West Africa.
He noted that the depth of Ghana’s involvement in the project demonstrated its commitment to regional economic integration.
Minister of Equipment and Road Maintenance of Cote d’Ivoire, Dr Amede Kouakou said he, alongside other ministers involved in Lagos-Abidjan highway development project, was committed to making accelerated progress with the project.
He spoke of his intention to take deliberate steps to ensure that the project became a reality for the citizens of Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria.
Lagos-Abidjan Corridor Highway, scheduled to begin in 2025, is part of the greater Dakar-Lagos Corridor and one of the flagship priority development programmes of ECOWAS.
The project will cover five ECOWAS member countries, namely – Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin Republic, and Nigeria, and will traverse eight border towns (four country-pair land borders) beginning from Eric Moore and ending in Abidjan.
