Mercy ANURIKA
The construction of the 1,081-kilometer Abidjan-Lagos highway will have a significant impact on the economies of five West African countries – Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria. Valued at $15.6 billion and led by the Economic Commission of West African States, this transformative public-private partnership project was the largest investment opportunity showcased at the Africa Investment Forum(link is external) virtual boardrooms held from 15 to 17 March 2022.
The Africa Investment Forum is a transactional, multi-stakeholder and multi-disciplinary platform that raises capital for large-scale investments in Africa. In advance of the Market Days event planned for November 2022 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, the African Development Bank and the seven founding partners of the Africa Investment Forum hosted virtual boardroom sessions over three days to discuss and advance deals in the pipeline for the 2021 Market Days. This flagship, in-person meeting, was postponed due to the emergence of the Omicron variant of Covid-19. Among the forty-three transactions featured during the virtual boardrooms, the Abidjan-Lagos highway attracted significant interest from private, public and institutional investors.
During the boardroom session, Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group, emphasized that the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway project is the most important infrastructure project in West Africa, adding that it will facilitate free movement and trade in the region. The new highway will start at Bingerville, in the eastern suburbs of Abidjan, and terminate at Mile 2 (Eric Moore) in Lagos. Three sections are planned for the construction of this dual three-lane highway: Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) – Takoradi (Ghana), 295 km; Takoradi (Ghana) – Akanu (Ghana), 466 km; and Noepe (Togo)- Cotonou (Benin)- Lagos (Nigeria), 320 km. Eight border posts will also be built along the corridor.
The Abidjan-Lagos highway has already attracted the interest of the African Development Bank, which has provided €22.4 million in funding to finance preparatory studies for the implementation and management of the corridor project. The 16 March boardroom session was co-chaired by the President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou. and Solomon Quaynor, the African Development Bank’s Vice President in charge of Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialization
President Brou echoed Bank President Adesina’s comments on the importance of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway project. “The Abidjan-Lagos Corridor is one of the main instruments that will ensure the development of our region and consolidate the economic resilience of West Africa. It is an integral part of the African Union and AUDA-NEPAD’s major continental road development projects,” he said.
The Abidjan-Lagos highway forms part of the Dakar-Abidjan-Lagos cross-border coastline. It will therefore have a direct impact on 14 of the 16 West African countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo). The strategic importance of the regional infrastructure project is hard to overstate. The Abidjan-Lagos axis covers nearly 75% of West Africa’s commercial activities. The transport sector accounts for 5% to 8% of the region’s gross domestic product and plays a key role in economic development and job creation, particularly for women and young people.
The Abidjan-Lagos highway is also one of 16 projects included in the Priority Action Plan of the African Union’s Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), which is being implemented by the African Development Bank. The project is also a priority within the framework of the new ECOWAS Vision 2050 which, among other objectives, aims to “make ECOWAS a fully integrated and interconnected economic region”. Further, the Abidjan-Lagos highway will complete the Enugu-Bamenda corridor, linking southeast Nigeria in West Africa to southwest Cameroon in Central Africa. The 443-kilometer highway, costing about $430 million, is being financed by the African Development Bank and the project is currently being finalized.
This integrating corridor will link the most economically dynamic cities and ports and the most densely populated agglomerations in West Africa (Lagos, Abidjan, Accra, Cotonou and Lomé). It will also increase trade and integration in West Africa, notably by providing maritime port access to landlocked countries (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Chad) through its connection with other corridors along the North-South axis. The Abidjan-Lagos highway will boost transport (roads, railroads, ports and airports) in West Africa and help accelerate the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, a market of 1.3 billion consumers and a combined GDP of about $3 trillion.
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