President of African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwunmi Adesina has revealed that the African Investment Forum has secured a $15.6bn for the Lagos-Abidjan highway corridor.
Adesina revealed this in a tweet on Friday where he disclosed Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara is also aware of the development.
“Speaking to the Press at the Presidential Villa, together with H.E. President Alassane Ouattara of Cote d’Ivoire. He was delighted to hear the African Investment Forum has secured $15.6 billion of investment interests for construction of the Lagos-Abidjan highway corridor, ” he tweeted.
The corridor is expected to connect five African major cities in Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Togo and Benin.
The Lagos-Abidjan project is seen as a major transport route expected to boost regional trade in the West African subregion.
Abidjan, Accra, Lome, Lagos and Cotonou are expected to be connected by the corridor.
It is also the flagship project of the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa.
“The corridor interconnects the most densely populated and economically active parts of the sub-region. It intersects with a rail network and major ports/airports.
“The transport sector in West Africa plays a key role in the economic development of the region and generates about five to eight per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“This remains cognisant of the fact that an efficient regional transport network is an enabling infrastructure required to promote regional trade and socio-economic development, inter alia.
“ECOWAS and WAEMU member states have consistently committed themselves to the financing of designated regional transport corridors.”
The Abuja-Lagos transport corridor supports a third of sub-regional trade activities on the continent.
