ECOWAS Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway Development Project reviews the Interim Report on the Trade and Transport Facilitation Study in Lomé

The Directorate of Transport of the ECOWAS Commission, in close collaboration with the Directorates of Trade, Customs & Taxation and Free Movement coordinated a technical workshop to review and validate the Interim Report on the Trade and Transport Facilitation Study of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway in Lomé, Togo from June 27 to 29, 2024.

As part of the implementation of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway Development Project, the ECOWAS Commission commissioned a consultant to develop a comprehensive Trade and Transport Facilitation framework to guide the operations of the Corridor Highway in terms of cross-border trade, customs, movement of goods, vehicles and persons along the Corridor.

The framework is expected to reflect existing International, Continental and Regional on texts on Trade and Transport facilitation to provide a simplified corridor-wide trade, transport and transit system that will ensure a seamless and free-flowing corridor with very minimal or no stops from beginning to end. It covers specific provisions for corridor connectivity, transit regimes, preferred trader schemes, cross-border vehicle insurance, integrated border management, ICT connectivity and information sharing on customs, immigration and corridor facilitation areas at National and Regional levels.

In accordance with the Terms of Reference of the Study, experts from the Corridor Member States, ECOWAS Institutions and stakeholders from the trade sector came together to review and validate the draft Interim Report received from the Consortium undertaking the study.

While welcoming the participants, Mr. Chris Appiah, the Ag. Director of Transport of the ECOWAS Commission highlighted the importance of the Trade and Transport Facilitation component to the operationalization of the Corridor Highway when completed. He explained that the recommendations of the Consultants should cover the short to medium term interventions to help facilitate current trade along the Corridor, as well as a longer-term framework to guide the operations of the highway once fully completed.

He recognized the importance of the participation of related sectors such as Free Movement, Trade, ECOWAS Brown Card, and the ECOWAS Project Preparation and Development Unit. He equally highlighted the participation of partners led by the African Development to ensure a holistic review of the recommendations.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Ibi Terna, Director Highway Planning and Development, Federal Ministry of Works of Nigeria and Chairman of the meeting highlighted that Trade and Transport Facilitation are key aspects of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway Project. “These aspects of the project are critical to unleashing the full potential of the planned Highway project”, he added.

The Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway is part of the greater Dakar-Lagos Corridor which is a catalyst for Regional Integration and Sustainable Development and is one of the flagship priority development programmes of ECOWAS.