A new figurehead has been appointed to drive forward the development of the proposed US$15bn Abidjan-Lagos highway megaproject
The board of directors of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Management Authority (ALCoMA) recently appointed Beninois finance expert Wilfried Lauriano do Rego as board chairman for a two-year term, at its inaugural meeting in Nigeria.
The 1,081 km Abidjan-Lagos Corridor represents one of Africa’s most ambitious infrastructure projects.
It entails the construction of a six-lane supranational highway linking the capitals and major economic centres of Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria, while integrating trade and transport facilitation, value chain development and logistics components.
Do Rego’s appointment is in accordance with an intergovernmental agreement, which provides for alphabetical rotation among member states starting with Benin.
Jacques Ayadji, also from Benin, automatically assumes the role of vice-chairperson.
The ALCoMA meeting also outlined actions needed to drive forward the corridor’s medium- and long-term transformation.
The project is expected to become a major driver of economic and industrial development in West Africa by 2030.
The ECOWAS Commission, the African Development Bank Group, ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), the West African Development Bank (BOAD) are currently working together with other partners to mobilise financing.
Various interim subcommittees were also formed during the recent Lagos meetings, including a finance committe, to support ALCoMA in mobilising funding for the highway.
The ALCoMA board also called on other development partners, including the European Union and the World Bank, to support the construction of the road scheme and ALCoMA’s operations.
It also welcomed the AfDB’s ongoing discussions to mobilise catalytic capital of US$500mn and other resources from across the region.
“These resources will be complemented by other bank group financial instruments, including viability gap financing; partial risk and credit guarantees for local-currency bonds; non-sovereign operations, and climate finance through the Global Center on Adaptation partnership (GCA),” an AfDB statement read.
GCA brings together governments, banks and private sector to accelerate climate adaptation projects and mobilise financing.
The AfDB has already provided US$25mn in technical assistance for the project’s preparatory phase.
With feasibility studies completed, theproject now enters its investment phase, paving the way for the construction of a six-lane transnational motorway.
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