Members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have approved the design for the $15 billion Lagos-Abidjan Corridor Highway Development Project. The approval, given during a meeting in Lagos chaired by Nigeria’s Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, marks a significant step towards the project’s implementation.
The highway, part of the greater Dakar-Lagos Corridor, aims to deepen regional economic integration and enhance connectivity across five ECOWAS member countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin Republic, and Nigeria. Covering approximately 1068 kilometers, the project will traverse eight border towns and is scheduled to begin in 2025.
Initiated in 2013, the project has been supported by the African Development Bank and has undergone extensive planning, including design and environmental impact assessments. Ghana’s Minister of Roads and Highways, Francis Boakye, emphasized the highway’s potential to boost trade, tourism, and economic activities in West Africa, comparing its expected impact to the transformative role of highways in the United States’ economic growth.
The project is part of ECOWAS’s flagship development programmes and represents a critical milestone in advancing regional infrastructure and economic integration.
