The Federal Government of Nigeria has signed a financial agreement for the construction of the Lagos-Abidjan highway. This is according to the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, through a Senior Information Officer in the ministry Olusegun Ogunkayode.
The signing of the financial agreement is a demonstration of the federal government’s commitment to the realization of the project.
“West African countries must also emulate South American and Asia countries, who have used road development to drive their economies,” he said.
In this case, the Lagos-Abidjan corridor will propel rapid integration of the region, boost commercial activities, improve social development, create employment windows and reduce social vices among the member states.
About Lagos-Abidjan highway
The Trans–West African Coastal Highway is a transnational highway project to link 12 West African coastal nations, from Mauritania in the north-west of the region to Nigeria in the east, with feeder roads already existing to two landlocked countries, Mali and Burkina Faso.
The length of the route is 4,560km of which 83% or 3,777 km has been paved according to African Union (AU) documents, or 4,010 km with 3,260 km paved, according to African Development Bank (ADB) reports (which do not include the Nouakchott-Dakar section of about 570 km. There are about 9 unpaved sections, but some paved sections require reconstruction. All are two-lane highways with the exception of short four-lane highways in the eastern third of the route. The ADB reports published in 2003 say that 32% of the highway is in poor condition, 9% is good and 59% is fair. Reconstruction of the segment in Lagos, Nigeria began in 2010, and when it is complete that section will be ten lanes wide.
Extract from constructionreviewonline.com