Six West African neighbours have agreed to invest and expand the Lagos-Abidjan highway into a six-lane to boost trade among them.
The leaders of the five countries-Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana and Ivory Coast agreed to the deal on the sidelines of the 21st Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Head State to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the African Union. The project is set to take place in 2014. The Highway will commence from Lagos, Nigeria, through the other countries and end in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
The expanded highway hopes to provide a vital road link to the sea ports which are used by landlocked countries in the sub-region such as Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. The road network is also expected to speed up movement of citizens along the corridor and enhance ease of doing business. The countries already belong to the sub-regional grouping ECOWAS, a body that has the free movement of persons as one of its protocols.
Ghana’s Foreign Minister Hannah Tetteh informed journalists at the meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia that the member countries will iron out the modalities for funding the project before construction begins in 2014. She further revealed the sector ministers of the various countries have been tasked to work out the plan for the actualization for the project. The completed plan will be presented to the Presidents of the various countries at the next ECOWAS summit in July.
The corridor is a popular trade route among the member states where rail transport is non-existent and air transport is just growing but expensive to many citizens. However many observers will say that the main hindrance to trade along the corridor is the customs barriers at each country’s border. Delays, harassment, bribe-taking officials and bureaucracy are the main concerns that must be addressed.
Intra-African trade (trade among African countries) is very low at 12 percent compared to trade among European countries of 60 percent, according to research by pan-African bank Ecobank.
