AfDB and EU inject $22.7 million in the construction of Abidjan-Lagos corridor

Infrastructure

Wednesday, 06 February 2019 19:10

AfDB and EU inject $22.7 million in the construction of Abidjan-Lagos corridor

(Togo First) - The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the European Union (EU) just decided to disburse $22.7 million for the construction of the Abidjan-Lagos corridor. The related financing agreement includes a $10 million grant from the European commission, and was signed last Monday.

The Abidjan-Lagos corridor which passes through Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Benin, Togo and Nigeria, will serve local maritime ports where respectively 90% and 60% of the region’s exports and imports transit.

The six-road highway, which spans more than 1,000km, should boost trade in the region. The latter was valued at about $15 billion in 2016, with a market opening up to more than 320 million consumers.

Actually, a feasibility study is now carried out five years after the signing of the agreement related to the infrastructure’s creation in 2014, by the presidents of Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo.

Let’s recall that the Abidjan-Lagos corridor connects the ECOWAS’ most active economic hubs, as well as the region’s most populated cities. Goods transiting via this axis represent nearly 75% of West Africa’s trade volume.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

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