The £12.3bn motorway that will link 5 African countries and boost struggling group

All eyes will be on West as work is poised to begin on a new highway from Abidjan to Lagos.

The 689 miles (1,028km) motorway known as the Abidjan-Lagos corridor highway is set to link five major countries in by 2030.

This colossal project will become a powerful economic and industrial hub thanks to the Spatial Development Initiative that’s been promoted by the African Development Bank.

The highway will span from Ivory Coast’s main city of Abidjan and will connect through Ghana, Togo and Benin, all the way to Nigeria’s largest city, Lagos. 

The Abidjan-Lagos corridor highway’s construction is set to begin in 2026 with total pledges from a number of investors and funders totalling a staggering £12.3 billion ($15.6bn). 

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is a regional organisation that’s made up of 15 West African countries whose aim is to promote trade, self-reliance and economic cooperation.

The ECOWAS mission is to promote Africa in areas including industry, agriculture, telecommunications, and transport and is a key player when it comes to the development of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor.

The Abidjan-Lagos Corridor is part of the greater Dakar-Lagos Corridor – a priority project that falls under the trans-African highway of the ECOWAS region.

Once completed, the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor is expected to help transform West Africa into a major hub for trade and industry, while also making it more attractive to investors and further boosting tourism.

Preparatory and feasibility studies, led by the African Development Bank, were recently commissioned.

This included the financing options for the corridor and included institutional arrangements for the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Management Authority to officially be up-and-running.

The Director of the Bank’s Infrastructure and Urban Development Department, Mike Salawou, said: “This economic corridor approach also naturally overlaps with major urban development. 

“It will support the growth of major economic hubs and improve links between large urban centres, secondary cities and rural areas within the five countries.

He added how the Bank has already “launched the Spatial Development Initiative” which is set to enable “transformative industrialisation right along the highway, to stimulate the growth of major economic clusters”.

Plans for the corridor have largely stalled due to a wave of military coups and nationalism which swept across West Africa since 2020. More than 10 attempted coups have been recorded since the recent military takeovers in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.  

The military takeovers have been a major thorn in the side of the 15-strong ECOWAS, with the regimes threatening to leave the bloc rather than comply with its rules – which include organising elections and restoring civilian government. 

Plans to build this modern transport corridor could now finally become a reality with the hopes to turn West Africa into a powerhouse.