ECOWAS, the AfDB and the Development Financial Institutions (DFI) consult on the financing of the Construction of the Abidjan – Lagos Corridor Highway

Abidjan, 26 September 2023.

The 1st round table of development partners and major regional and international DFIs on the financing of the Construction of the Abidjan – Lagos Corridor Highway held on Tuesday 26 September 2023, in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire under the auspices of the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID).

This flagship project preliminary estimated at US$15.1 billion, lies at the heart of the ECOWAS Vision 2050 and the 4 x 4 strategic objectives of the ECOWAS Commission Management. The 1,028 km supranational highway will connect the economic capitals of five West African countries, namely Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria, forming an important part of the Trans-African Highway Network that commences from Praia in Cabo Verde through Dakar, Abidjan, Lagos which connects Central and East Africa to end at Mombasa in Kenya.

The solemn opening of the round table took place, with a speech delivered by Mr. Stéphane Ezoa, Deputy Director of Cabinet on behalf of the Minister of Equipment and Maintenance of Roads for Cote d’Ivoire, Dr. Amédé Koffi Kouakou who stressed that the authorities of his country attach great importance to this highway and are committed to work with the other corridor countries and ECOWAS to achive this great vision of the five Presidents.

Mr. Sediko DOUKA, Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitization of the ECOWAS Commission, who leds the ECOWAS delegation, comprising Mr. Mambury NJIE, Advisor for Economic and Financial Integration tothe President of the ECOWAS Commission and Mr. Chris APPIAH, Acting Director of Transport of ECOWAS, stated in his speech that the Abidjan-Lagos Road Corridor Project is being implemented not only as a road project but as an intergrated “development corridor” which will also catalyze the deployment of other important sectors such as industry, agriculture, energy, environment, ICT, tourism in the region, thus becoming an economic corridor to boost the growth of the Region.

‘For all these reasons, the ECOWAS Commission, The African Development Bank and the Member States along the corridor call on all public and private investors to join in realizing this noble vision that will sustainably transform the economic landscape of our region” said Commissioner DOUKA.

For the African Development Bank, Mr. Joseph Ribeiro, Deputy Director General, West Africa, African Development Bank, representing Mrs. Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, Vice-President, Regional Development, Integration and Service Delivery, African Development Bank, in his speech, stressed the integrative nature of this project, which will have an important regional impact. He stressed that the project will be very significantly in the realisation of the AfCFTA, the continental free trade area.

For Dr. Mabouba Diagne, Vice-President Finance and Corporate Services at the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (BIDC), the strong mobilization of IFDs and Donors at this 1st round table, marks an important signal of the investor appetite for the construction of the Abidjan-Lagos Highway.

The Roundtable was marked by a very detailed presentation of the highway project covering the objectives, key investment elements, findings from the feasibility and Preliminary design studies, other technical details and the structure of the Corridor Management Authority, “ALCOMA” mandated to construct, manage and operate the highway on behalf of the five countries.