The first tenders for a 1,028-kilometer motorway project connecting Abidjan, the capital of Côte d’Ivoire, and Lagos, the capital of Nigeria, are set to be published in January.
This ambitious infrastructure initiative, announced by an official from the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), aims to enhance regional connectivity and trade across West Africa.
According to globalconstructionreview.com, The project holds the potential to significantly improve transportation links between these two major cities and boost economic development in the region. Ebere Izunobi is chairman of Ecowas’ Spatial Development Initiative, the body responsible for designing the project.
He said the highway was approved by a meeting of heads of state, and that experts from the countries the road will pass through – Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Côte d’Ivoire – had convened to assess its physical, economic and social aspects.
The Abidjan-Lagos Corridor is expected to cost around $15.6bn to build. It will connect up urban centres such as Accra, Cotonou and Lomé.
“We are currently in the design phase, and by the end of this year, once the design is completed, along with the environmental assessment and engineering design, the project tender documents will be made available in the market,” Izunobi said, reports business website Nairametrics.
He said transport infrastructure was now a top Ecowas priority.
Ashoke Maliki, Ecowas’ head of roads and railways, said the corridor was a “crucial socio-economic link”.
In the future, the corridor will have a railway. This was approved in 2016 but a lack of funding has stymied progress and there is currently no completion date.
