Road freight is carrying economic growth in West Africa along a number of major investments in road corridors.Work is due to start in 2016 on the 1 028-kilometre Abidjan-Lagos transnational coastal motorway, which will connect Côte d’Ivoire to Nigeria via Ghana, Togo and Benin.Designed to revolutionise connectivity in West Africa according to its backers, the project has attracted up to $15.6 billion in investment interest from private and institutional partners.If construction starts on schedule in 2026 and there are no major delays, the route is expected to be completed by 2030.The African Development Bank (AFDB) contributed $25 million to fund the preparatory phase of the corridor project. The Abidjan-Lagos route accounts for 75% of West Africa’s commercial activities, with transport contributing five to eight percent of the region’s GDP.Once completed, the multi-lane highway will link some of West Africa’s biggest economic hubs, including Abidjan, Takoradi, Accra, Lomé, Cotonou, Porto-Novo, and Lagos.According to the Af DB, the corridor has the potential to increase regional trade volumes by 10-15%.The Nigerian capital will also be connected by road to Algiers in the north via the Trans-Sahara Highway that will link the entire Maghreb and Sahel sub-region, over a distance of 9 400 km.Financed by the African Development Fund, the Bank Group’s concessional window, the sections connecting Algiers to Niamey (Niger) are nearing completion, with secondary roads in Tunisia, Mali, and Chad in their final stages. “In Niger, the Trans-SaharaHighway has been enthusiasticallyembraced by travellers and road hauliers eager to transition from old, bumpy surfaces to wide, modern tarmac roads. Journey times have been significantly reduced, unlocking new economic opportunities for local communities. “This infrastructure has reinforced Niger’s role as a strategic crossroads between the Maghreb and the Sahel, facilitating connections between Algeria, Nigeria and Chad,” according to a report presented by the Af DB at its annual meeting in Abidjan in May. In addition to reducing the cost of trading between neighbouring African countries, the road corridors play a vital role in ensuring food security.“Food insecurity in Africa isn’t just about producing more – it’s about fixing the broken systems that prevent it from getting where it’s needed most. By investing and improving transportation, we can remove the key bottlenecks, reduce costs, and ensure more reliable access to food for millions of people,” commented Axel van Trotsenburg, the World Bank senior managing director at the publication of a bank-funded study on food security and transport links. ER
