Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola has said that the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor holds the key to cross-border trade in West Africa, stressing that it will enhance rapid integration and also improve socio-economic activities which will create more jobs for youths in the sub-region.
Fashola said this in a keynote address he delivered to road infrastructure experts from the ECOWAS Abidjan – Lagos Corridor (ALC) countries of Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo, a statement issued by the Communications Division of the ECOWAS Commission, made available to BusinessDay on Thursday said.
The Minister, who congratulated the experts for their commitment urged them to sustain the momentum to fast-track implementation, adding that it is in line to achieve the vision of the Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS to ensure the development of the region and improve the standard of living for the Community citizens, the statement said.
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The 3-day expert meeting, which commenced on Tuesday, was in preparation for the November 10 Ministerial Steering Committee meeting of Honorable Ministers of roads and infrastructure in the sub-region, deliberated on the status of project preparatory activities including the ratification of the Treaty establishing the 6-lane Abidjan – Lagos Corridor, signature and ratification of Financing Agreements with the AfDB for the ALC feasibility.
Commissioner for Infrastructure, ECOWAS Commission, Antoinette Weeks, who welcomed participants on behalf of the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Marcel de Souza, said the ECOWAS Commission has made some progress in pursuing the implementation of all components of the ALC Programme as mandated by the Heads of State and Governments through the leadership of the Steering Committee.
Weeks said that studies have been finalized on the legal and institutional framework documents for the establishment of the Supranational Corridor Management Authority, adding that the ECOWAS Commission in collaboration with experts from the Member States have completed the evaluation of various Expression of Interest (EOIs) and the shortlisting of consultants to perform the feasibility and detailed engineering design study for the Corridor Development Programme, the statement said.
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She acknowledged the imminent establishment of the Project Implementation Unit and recruitment of the Technical Assistance Team to support ECOWAS and the Member States, to expedite the implementation.
Other areas of consideration included environmental and socio-economic impact assessment and detailed engineering study, spatial development initiative scoping study, Road safety audit study and a technical assistance consultancy services as well as advancing the signature and operationalization of legal documents for the establishment of the new Abidjan – Lagos Corridor Management Authority (ALCoMA), the statement said.
The Abidjan-Lagos transport corridor is the main east-west transport corridor in West Africa, connecting the capital cities of five countries (Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria). The travel along the corridor is recognized as vital to the socio-economic development of the region.
Innocent Odoh, Abuja
