ECOWAS ministers discuss implementation plan for Abidjan-Lagos highway – ECOWAS Ministers of Works/Road Infrastructure, Transport, Finance and Justice from Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo, rose from a one-day meeting here Monday, agreeing on an implementation plan for the construction of a proposed highway linking Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, to Lagos, Nigeria.
Under the arrangement, a supra-national agency will be set up to manage the project implementation phase to ensure uniformity in approach and standards for the road whose development will be regionally coordinated.
Quoting a statement from the ECOWAS Commission here, PANA reported that the ministers, whose meeting was in response to a recent directive by the Heads of State of the five countries affected by the project to further improve the Lagos-Abidjan corridor, also considered issues relating to project preparation and development as well as modalities for the mobilization of funds to ensure a speedy development of the project.
They also discussed the initial assessment studies, feasibility studies and design plan, including detailed design cost and development of an investment plan and a funding-transaction support arrangement.
Also considered were the institutional framework consisting of a memorandum of understanding, and a joint development agreement and/or international project agreement, including highway development and management strategy.
In order to address the legal dimensions of the project, the ministers recommended the development of an appropriate legal framework to accord the corridor a regional status to prevent obstacles imposed by national laws and policies.
In addition, they agreed to consider available options for the involvement of the private sector in project preparation, development and implementation; as well as ensure the implementation of the adopted ECOWAS Regional Supplementary Act on axle load limitation and control to safeguard investments made in constructing the roads.
They also proposed the inclusion of corridor management and road governance components to ensure a holistic solution to the free movement of persons, goods and services along the corridor, which covers a total distance of 1,028 kilometres and carries more than 75 per cent of trade in West Africa.
The ministers’ report will be presented to the Presidents of the concerned Member States on 26 May.
Also represented at the meeting were the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Finance Corporation (AFC), the European Union Delegation, the Spanish Cooperation, the Japan International Agency (JICA) and the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Organization (ALCO).
