The Transport Directorate of the ECOWAS Commission recently conducted five in-country pre-validation technical workshops across Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire. Held from June 18 to June 24, 2024, these workshops aim to enhance stakeholder engagement for the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway project.
These national-level workshops are part of the first step in validating the third phase of the project: detailed design studies and preparation of technical specifications. The initial two phases—alignment definition and feasibility and preliminary design studies for the 1,028km road—were completed and validated by member states in November 2022 after delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ECOWAS Commission included these pre-validation workshops to ensure proper sensitization and involvement of all related sector institutions and experts. The goal is to review technical design reports while allowing design consultants to receive input from stakeholders involved in various sectors such as road infrastructure, cross-border transport, social and environmental considerations, spatial planning, trade, and industries.
Following these national validations will be a plenary corridor-wide technical validation workshop. Here, Project Directors and Engineers from all five countries will review and grant final approvals for the detailed design reports. These approvals will also include tender documents for selecting private investors and contractors to construct the highway. This preparatory work aims to attract funding and support from international organizations, governments, and private investors.
The Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway Development Project plans to construct a six-lane dual carriage highway spanning from Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire through Ghana, Togo, Benin to Lagos in Nigeria. The five corridor countries have temporarily entrusted the ECOWAS Commission with implementing this project. In the long term, a supra-national body known as the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Management Authority (ALCOMA) will take over before the end of 2024.
Financing for this regional flagship infrastructure development project comes from multiple sources: primarily by the African Development Bank (AfDB), with contributions from the European Union and ECOWAS Commission. Additionally, each corridor country has contributed $1.4 million towards technical studies and project preparation activities.
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