The construction of the 1,028-kilometre Abidjan-Lagos highway would benefit at least 40 million West Africans, the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), said at the weekend.
The highway is estimated to cost $15.6 billion, which is expected to have a significant impact on the economies of five regional countries, namely: Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria, he said, remained firmly on course.
Speaking at the 16th inter-ministerial meeting of the group in Abuja, Fashola, who doubles as the Chairman of the five regional ministerial steering committees, noted that the resources are being mobilized to ensure the Nigerian axis of the project is completed soon.
“The Nigeria section is the famous Lagos-Badagry corridor. As the designs are going on, integration is going on, and our government, led by President Muhammadu Buhari through his tax-credit scheme, has mobilized the resources to ensure that the Lagos-badagry section of this highway can be fully paid for.
“Money is now in place and work is now going on and those who are familiar with the corridor must have realised that between December last year and the first quarter of this year, there has been more rapid deployment of men, machines and materials along that corridor,” he assured.
Fashola further revealed that the link bridge between Nigeria and Cameroon, which was primarily funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB), would be commissioned this month.
“We have completed a new link bridge that links Nigeria to Cameroon, and it was funded largely by the AfDB and we are hoping that the ECOWAS commission will give us the necessary support to ensure the formal opening of that bridge sometime in the month of June,” he added.
According to the minister, the commitment to the piece of infrastructure is to upgrade the road network into a first-class six-lane highway, stressing that quality must not be sacrificed, although there was a need for speed.
“We’re trying to deliver a better life for five countries and over 40 million people who use that corridor almost daily.
“The future is bright, this is an important investment for the people of Africa to achieve the objective of the Africa Union (AU) to create a trans-African highway,” he stated.
Also speaking, the Chief Transport Economist, AfDB, and Task Manager for the project, Lydie Ehouman, said the bank had been able to secure an agreement for an additional €3.5 million for the road project.
Ehrman added that the addition brings the total amount available for the initial financing of the strategic study on the project to $ 41 million.
“The agreement for the on-lending of this additional grant by the bank to ECOWAS is currently being finalized. Thus, in addition to its substantial contribution of $25 million, the bank will have mobilized €12.63 million in a grant from the European Union.
“This brings the total amount available for the financing of this highly strategic study to the equivalent of about US$ 41 million,” the AfDB top employee stated.
However, she noted that the claim of delay by consultants in member countries was not tenable since the agreement was that work should continue while any variation could be discussed and resolved.
In his remarks, Ghana’s Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwasi Amoako-Attah, urged the government of the five countries to do everything possible to help remove whatever impediment that may be slowing down the project.
He called on member states to speed up the negotiation with the consultants to reach an amicable settlement, explaining that West Africa cannot afford to lose any more time.
“I would also want to call on my colleague ministers again to humbly consider a fair compensation, so as to enable the consultants to undertake that assignment within our revised timelines,” he added.
IN HIS REMARKS, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Infrastructure, Mr. Pathe Gueye, said technical studies had been extended from June 2021 to December 2022 due to the setback occasioned by the pandemic.
“Appropriate measures relating to this resumption should also be taken, in particular, the extension of the deadlines of the contracts that have expired,” he noted.
