AfDB Moves to Secure Funding for Major Abidjan–Lagos Highway Project
The African Development Bank (AfDB), in collaboration with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and regional partners, has concluded a multi-country field mission aimed at mobilising financing for the ambitious Abidjan–Lagos Highway project.
The mission, conducted from 9 to 24 April, covered Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria, five countries through which the 1,028-kilometre transnational corridor will pass. The highway is widely regarded as one of West Africa’s most transformative infrastructure projects, designed to strengthen regional integration, boost trade, and support industrial development.
Led by Mike Salawou, Director of Infrastructure and Urban Development at the African Development Bank Group, the delegation included representatives from ECOWAS, the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development, the West African Development Bank, and private sector stakeholders such as Ecobank.
Throughout the mission, the team held high-level discussions with government ministers and senior officials, including Ghana’s Minister of Roads and Highways Kwame Governs Agbodza, Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Infrastructure and Road Maintenance Yacouba Sié Hien, Togo’s Delegate Minister for Public Works Sani Yaya, and Nigeria’s Minister of Works David Umahi, who also chairs the project’s Steering Committee.
Talks also involved finance ministries across the five member states, focusing on securing investment commitments and addressing financing gaps for construction, operation, and maintenance of the corridor.
According to ECOWAS transport director Chris Appiah, ensuring timely financing is critical to maintaining momentum on the project. He warned that delays in funding could weaken the corridor’s transformative economic potential and called for support in areas such as viability gap financing and land acquisition costs.
Technical discussions during the mission also addressed the highway’s design, alongside environmental and social safeguards to ensure sustainable implementation.
The AfDB reaffirmed that the project aligns with its strategic priorities, particularly improved access to capital and the development of climate-resilient infrastructure.
The Abidjan–Lagos Highway is expected to become a major economic artery in West Africa, easing the movement of goods and people across one of the continent’s busiest trade routes. It is also considered a key infrastructure enabler for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to deepen intra-African trade.
The African Development Bank has already provided US$25 million in technical assistance for preparatory work, with feasibility studies completed and the project now moving into its investment phase.
Under a regional treaty signed by the five participating countries, the highway will be developed and managed as a unified asset under a newly established Abidjan–Lagos Corridor Management Authority, marking a significant step towards a fully integrated and borderless West African economic corridor.
