USD 15.6Bn highway could benefit 40Mn West Africans: Fashola

USD 15.6Bn highway could benefit 40Mn West Africans: Fashola

Nigeria’s Minister of Housing and Works, Mr. Babatunde Fashola has announced that the completion of Abidjan-Lagos, a 1028-kilometre highway will benefit around 40 million West Africans in the coming years.

As per credible sources, the construction of the highway is estimated to be around $15.6 billion which will impact the economies of five nations such as Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, Togo, and Nigeria.

Babatunde Fashola- Chairman of the 5 regional ministerial steering committee- at the 16th  inter-ministerial meeting of the group in Abuja stated that resources are being mobilised to make sure that the Nigerian axis of the project is concluded soon.

Fashola mentioned that the Nigeria section is a renowned Lagos-badagry corridor. Babatunde added that President Muhammadu Buhari-led government, via his tax-credit scheme, has deployed resources that ensured the full payment of Lagos-badagry section of the highway.

It was cited that with the ongoing work and money in place, the deployment of machines, men, and materials has been more rapid along the corridor between December 2021 and the first quarter of 2022.

Speculations have it that the link bridge between Cameroon and Nigeria, majorly funded by the African Development Bank, will be commissioned this month.

Fashola added that along with the support of AfDB, the government hopes to receive support from ECOWAS commission to ensure the formal inauguration of the bridge in the month of June.

For the uninitiated, the commitment to the piece of infrastructure is to elevate the road network into an exceptional six lane highway, focusing on the fact that although there was requirement for speed, the quality should not be compromised.

Through this move, the government is trying to provide an improvised life for 5 nations and over 40 million people who use that corridor almost daily.

Source Credits: - https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2022/06/06/fashola-construction-of-15-6bn-abidjan-lagos-highway-to-benefit-40m-west-africans/