Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Authority Begins Operations After Board Induction

ECOWAS and the African Development Bank Group have moved the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor project into a new phase after briefing the newly inaugurated board of its management authority in Abidjan.

The two-day orientation, held on 19 and 20 February 2026, brought together directors of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Management Authority (ALCoMA) as institutions behind the project begin full operational rollout. The exercise followed the board’s swearing-in in December 2025 during the 22nd Ministerial Steering Committee meeting on the corridor highway project.

Officials said the board was taken through the Corridor Treaty and related legal instruments that define the project’s mandate, supranational standing and delivery structure. The treaty framework is backed by the presidents of Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria, placing the cross-border highway at the centre of a wider regional integration agenda.

Presentations during the session covered technical studies for the proposed highway and related plans on trade and transport facilitation. Delegates also reviewed spatial development proposals, regional value-chain opportunities, logistics systems and planned anchor economic hubs expected to support activities along the route.

The board further examined governance documents for ALCoMA, including draft rules of procedure, charter provisions and recruitment steps for the Director General, administrators and technical personnel.

Chris Appiah, ECOWAS Director of Transport, said the corridor model links road infrastructure with trade and social development outcomes. He urged stakeholders “to spare no effort to make this project a reality in the near future,” and said smoother cross-border movement would speed up economic activity across West Africa.

Mike Salawou, Director for Infrastructure and Urban Development at the African Development Bank Group, said progress in setting up the authority showed commitment by ECOWAS and participating countries. He added that the AfDB, acting as mandated lead arranger, would work with the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) and other financing partners to raise funds for implementation.

“Our fellow citizens are waiting for us to move along this corridor, to carry out their socioeconomic activities and facilitate trade in our sub-region,” Salawou said.

As part of the programme, delegates visited a major bridge project in Abidjan described as the city’s fourth-largest. Officials said the bridge has reduced congestion, especially in Yopougon, Côte d’Ivoire’s largest municipality with an estimated population of about two million residents.

For Nigeria, which anchors the eastern end of the corridor, the project is expected to improve movement of people and goods, support intra-regional commerce and strengthen links between coastal economies.