‘Lagos/Abidjan highway corridor’ll boost Lagos, intraregional economies’
The recent approval for the construction of 46 kilometres Agbara to Seme Border ECOWAS superhighway by the federal Executive Council (FEC), has been welcomed by Nigerian business operators on the corridor.
In an interview with Nigerian traders doing business along the ECOWAS corridor at the Lagos International trade fair complex weekend, they said the expansion and upgrade of the road will deepen business relations of Nigerians with their partners along the corridor and especially countries like Ghana, Cote D’ Ivore, Senegal, Benin, Togo and Burkina Faso.
Business Hilights recalls that the Ministry of Finance had revealed that it has obtained approval for a loan of $1.5m from the African Development Fund (AfDB) to finance the multinational Abidjan-Lagos corridor highway development project study.
Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, disclosed that “The multinational project that is running on the Abidjan-Lagos corridor will be a highway project that will be in six lanes, a dual carriageway highway that will involve five countries, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Federal Republic of Benin, Republic of Cote d’Ivoire, Republic of Ghana and the Togolese Republic.”
She recalled that “At the 42nd ordinary session of the Heads of State meeting of the ECOWAS countries in 2013, this project was discussed and approved; the African Development Bank in 2016 approved the total sum of $13.5m for the whole of the project to finance the study in the form of a loan as well as grant.
“So, this $13.5m has been distributed among the participating countries and the component for Nigeria is $1.5m.
“The FEC has approved that we accept this facility so that the project study can be commissioned towards the planning of the execution of the highway project itself.”
Accordingly in his explanation, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, averred that the Council therefore approved a contract for the rehabilitation of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, specifically the 46km section from Agbara through Badagry to the Seme Border which formed critical part of the corridor.
Fashola said the approval for the rehabilitation of the road excluded the part under contract by the Lagos State Government from Eric Moore to Okokomaiko.
He added further that “Council approved 46 kilometres from Agbara through to Seme Border. And out of that 46 kilometres, 24 kilometres will be six lanes and 22 kilometres will retain the current four lanes without expansion of the three construction and the contract price is N63.023bn.
“Just for clarity, this road is part of the Lagos/Abidjan highway corridor, so the Nigerian section is the Lagos, Eric Moore to Badagry to Seme Border. So, we are constructing our part.
“Ghana has done theirs, I think Ivory Coast has done theirs too, Togo and Benin have something in place. Some of them have to move because of coastal erosion by the Atlantic Ocean and how to reintegrate all of that is part of the studies that are been funded by the African Development Bank and also how to ensure single and efficient border control.”
Recent checks on the ongoing construction by CCECC on the stretch revealed slowed level of works as potholes takeover the entire 10-lane plus metro rail system being implemented by the Lagos State Government.
