Nigeria is set to receive a whopping US $22m for
the Abidjan-Lagos highway project after ECOWAS and the African
Development Bank (AfDB) signed the loan agreement to develop the project.
ECOWAS Commission President, Jean-Claude Brou
said the 1,080-km Abidjan-Lagos corridor would connect some of the largest
and economically dynamic cities in Africa and also link vibrant seaports which
served landlocked countries of the region.
“With the approval of the member states, the ECOWAS
Commission forwarded financing requests of approximately US$ 89 million to
several development partners, including AfDB and European Union, to fund the
technical and project preparation studies,” he said.
The signing of the Grant Retrocession Agreement was
between ECOWAS, AfDB, and the contracts for the feasibility,
environmental, socio-economic studies. The signing and detailed
engineering designs for the six-lane highway, were in recognition of the
decision of the Presidents of Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo and Benin in
2014 on the construction of the highway.
“Promoting regional trade is enshrined in articles
establishing AfDB and is a key pillar in the High Five priorities of the bank. That
is why the bank is investing heavily in high-quality regional transport
infrastructure throughout the continent,” said Senior Director, AfDB,
Ebrima Faal.
He added that the objective of the Abidjan-Lagos
Corridor Highway Study was to establish everything needed for the effective
implementation, operation and economic development of the highway.
Mayne David-West, of Pearl Consultants and Civil
and Structural Engineers, who spoke on behalf of the other consultants, said
the project design would take two years and would connect to the planned
East-West coastal road.
EU representative, Kurt Cornelis, commented that the project fitted in the framework of the cooperation of the EU with the continent and also the region. He acknowledged that the project would strengthen the competitiveness of the territories, stimulate investments, encourage regional integration for development growth and job creation. https://constructionreviewonline.com/2019/02/nigeria-to-receive-us-22-7m-for-abidjan-lagos-highway-project/
