Experts pave the way for the meeting of the steering committee of The Abidjan-Lagos Corridor motorway project

Experts involved in the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Motorway Development Project will meet for the 22nd session of their Committee on Tuesday, 16^th of December 2025, in Lomé, Togo, to share the results of various technical studies, the design options selected and the financing model for each of the fifteen (15) concession lots of this supranational motorway.

The meeting will also be an opportunity for them to present the finalisation of the trade and transport facilitation framework study for this motorway, with a set of concrete measures to be implemented in the short, medium and long term to ensure the smooth flow of goods and people along the corridor.

There will also be a presentation on the economic potential of the region and proposals to unlock and realise this potential through a study on spatial development initiatives in the corridor’s area of influence, which extends over nearly 100 km of motorway. This study highlights nearly 206 projects grouped into twenty-six (26) clusters, consisting of anchor projects, strategic infrastructure projects, and projects to increase transport density and deepen the economy. These activities will be marketed to investors and developed jointly with the Abidjan-Lagos motorway, thanks to connections and logistics platforms.

For Christian Appiah, Director of Transport at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, these studies and numerous other transport governance measures adopted at the regional level clearly demonstrate that the member states of the corridor, with the support of the regional organisation and the African Development Bank (AfDB), have a clear roadmap for making the Abidjan-Lagos road a major economic development axis for the region.

On behalf of the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Alieu Touray, he urged technical and financial partners to mobilise their support for the regional organisation and the five states of the Abidjan-Lagos corridor in the implementation of this visionary and innovative development project.

He welcomed the recommendation of the ECOWAS Summit of Heads of State and Government, held on the 14^th of December 2025 in Abuja, Nigeria, inviting these partners to support the development projects of the ECOWAS corridor and its member states.

In addition to the various presentations, the meeting also included the establishment of the Board of Directors of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Management Authority (ALCoMA), the body responsible for building, managing and operating the motorway on behalf of the corridor states.

Opening the meeting, Engineer Ebere Izunobi, Acting Director of Road Planning at Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Works, invited participants to take into account all the details of the project, particularly its financial aspects, when formulating their recommendations, which will be submitted on the 19^th of December 2025, again in the Togolese capital, to the Steering Committee of Transport Ministers, in order to enable the launch of the implementation phase of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Motorway Development Project.

This motorway, it should be noted, is a major road infrastructure project in West Africa. Stretching 1,028 kilometres, it accounts for 75% of West Africa’s commercial activity and connects Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria. With an estimated cost of around US$14.7 billion, this motorway is to be financed through a mixed public-private financing model.

The implementation of this motorway will mark an important step forward in regional integration within the ECOWAS region. The completion of this road infrastructure will be an essential part of ECOWAS’ broader strategy to facilitate the free movement of people and goods within the community, strengthen trade cooperation, reduce transport costs, promote economic development and stimulate regional trade.