AfDB: Enugu-Cameroon highway project to be completed this year

The African Development Bank (AfDB) says the $430 million Enugu-Cameroon road project will be completed before the end of this year.

Akinwumi Adesina, AfDB president, said this at the 59th ordinary session of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Authority of heads of state and government in Accra, Ghana.

In March 2007, Cameroon and Nigeria signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) seeking funds from the bank and other development partners to execute the road transport corridor.

It was co-funded by AfDB, the governments of Nigeria and Cameroon, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and the International Development Agency (IDA).

The project was designed to strengthen trade and cooperation between the two countries.

“The $430 million highway linking Enugu in Nigeria to Bamenda in Cameroon will be completed this year and will transform trade opportunities between the two countries,” Adesina said.

He also said AfDB and the ECOWAS commission are working together to “finalize the feasibility studies for the landmark Abidjan-Lagos corridor by the end of this year.

“We expect construction for the corridor to commence within 24 months. This highway will link 85% of the trade volume in ECOWAS through the corridor.

“That’s who we are: Africa’s solutions bank! And Africa needs solutions to help it navigate through the very challenging times posed by the Covid-19 pandemic”.

The Abidjan-Lagos corridor is a flagship project of the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) that interconnects the capital cities of five western African states: Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria.

The corridor starts from Bingerville, a suburb of Abidjan, and terminates at Mile 2 in Lagos.