The Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has begun a validation workshop in preparation for the implementation of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor highway improvement project.
The purpose of the workshop, which was organized by the project implementation Unit of the commission’s Spatial Development Initiative (SDI), was to share ideas and completely examine the physical, economic, and social aspects of the highway project.
Speaking on the significance of the workshop, Mr. Ebere Izunobi, Chairman of the Spatial Development Initiative, stated that experts from five member countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Benin Republic, and Cote D’Ivoire, were drawn to discuss infrastructure development, which would transform lives along the Abidjan-Lagos corridor.
According to him, transport infrastructure has been prioritised in the ECOWAS commission programmes. It was discussed and approved at the Heads of state summit that the highway, known as “Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway”, with the length of around 1028km, connect major cities and crosses an area with high economic potential.
Mr. Izunobi reiterated SDI’s commitment to work with individual country, to ensure that countries along that corridor spring up developmental project such as port services along the coastal area, building of companies, evacuation of raw materials, importation of goods and services amongst other.
Also speaking, the Head of Road & Railways, ECOWAS Commission, Mr. Ashoke Maliki, stated that the Abidjan-Lagos highway corridor is an important socio-economic link in the ECOWAS region of the trans-African road and motorway programme.
He said that the project cannot be reduced to simple construction of highway, but a trade and coordinated set of intermodal transport and logistics infrastructures and services that facilitate trade.
Mr. Maliki noted that the Spatial Development Initiative is a company that identifies important project which cuts across agriculture, health and infrastructure as the workshop would afford the member state representatives opportunity to look and approve what SDI is presenting.
The 3-day workshop which began on Wednesday the 13th of September will conclude tomorrow, Friday the 15th, 2023.
