As ECOWAS prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2025 as a thriving economic community with full freedom of movement and a functional regional free trade area, member-countries participated in a three-day technical workshop on January 29, in Cotonou, Benin Republic, to develop recommendations for improvements.
They called for adherence to existing Community documents, adapted to international best practices and agreements.
The workshop was hosted by the Transport Department of the ECOWAS Commission in Cotonou, Benin, from Wednesday, January 29 to January 31, 2025, and included the validation of the diagnostic report and recommendations contained in the draft report on the Trade and Transport Facilitation Study (TTF) for the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Expressway Development Project.
One of the key elements in the preparatory phase of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Expressway Development Project is the development and implementation of a comprehensive trade and transport facilitation strategy to ensure the smooth movement of goods, people and vehicles along the corridor.
The envisaged framework will include all measures in compliance with regional, continental and international trade facilitation agreements, the elimination of delays and harassment at border controls and other non-tariff trade barriers, and the implementation of multi-sector controls. These issues have been raised by many travellers and traders within the sub-regional space as key challenges that must be addressed for the regional body to provide a truly integrative space where trade and tourism will thrive.
The framework will include new transport procedures (replacing the previous interstate road transport system), improved regulation of cross-border transport, standardization of customs procedures and full interconnection of systems, the implementation of the ECOWAS Brown Card covering vehicles crossing borders, and the digitalization of all other relevant measures.
The workshop was attended by relevant ministries and departments of the corridor member states, project managers of the ECOWAS Commission (Transport, Trade, Customs and Taxation, Free Movement and Migration), technical experts and government representatives.
The meeting was also attended by the African Development Bank, the main funder of the corridor development project, the EU, as well as other stakeholders and organisations involved in the project, such as ALCO, the Borderless Alliance and ECOWAS Brown Card.
In his opening remarks, Chris Appiah, Director of Transport for the ECOWAS Commission, noted that the trade and transport facilitation framework for the corridor, once completed, will include a comprehensive set of measures to be implemented before and after the construction of the six-lane supranational highway from Abidjan to Lagos. It is expected that this will contribute significantly to strengthening intra-regional trade, free movement of nationals, vehicles and related services within the framework of the ECOWAS Regional Integration Agenda, as well as enabling member states to benefit from trade under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.
The Abidjan-Lagos Corridor stretches for approximately 1,028 km and connects some of Africa’s most important and economically dynamic cities – Abidjan, Accra, Cotonou, Lomé and Lagos – covering a large part of West Africa’s population. It also connects a very vibrant seaport serving all landlocked countries in the region, including Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
The development objectives, after project implementation, are to create social and economic activities, facilitate cross-border trade and integrate economies within the ECOWAS Community. This will reduce poverty among those whose livelihoods depend on the corridor’s transport. It is expected that this will be achieved through the construction of the six-lane highway from Abidjan to Lagos, the development of economic hubs along the corridor, among other things, ensuring coherence in transport and economic activities to promote integration and economic development.
