The Nigerian government has stated its commitment to speedily complete its section of the Lagos-Abidjan Highway.
The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi made the commitment in his office in Abuja when he received a briefing on the ongoing construction of the Highway from an ECOWAS delegation led by the ECOWAS Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalization Mr. Sediko Douka.
The Minister while describing the project as a laudable move that would bring rapid integration and development in West Africa pointed the need to section the project in order to complete it quickly.
“I think for ease of work and speedy completion, the project should be sectioned and put a process in place to make the project achievable because some sections might be viable while some other sections might not be.
“We should fast track the completion of our own section following the feasibility result and technical studies and design,“ Umahi said.
Umahi also advocated for the use of concrete pavement on the Nigerian corridor explaining that concrete roads are more durable.
“A lot of advantages to use concrete to construct roads, concrete roads last longer compared to asphalt roads reducing the need for frequent repairs and maintenance, it’s stronger and can withstand heavy traffic loads, it also has low maintenance and this has been adopted by the Nigerian government.” He said.
Earlier in his remarks, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Infrastructure, Mr Sediko Douka noted that Africa’s economic integration has been hampered by large deficits in its transportation infrastructure.
This, according to Mr. Douka is part of the focus of the 2050 ECOWAS vision which seeks to enhance infrastructure development to enhance economic growth and integration of people in the region.
He explained that the 1,028 km Lagos-Abidjan road project was initiated by the Heads of States and Government of the Corridor Member States namely: Benin 128km, Cote d’Ivoire 155km, Ghana 576km, Nigeria 79.5km and Togo 89.2km in Yamoussoukro, Cote D’Ivoire on 28th February, 2013.
Mr. Douka added that the steering committee of the project is made up of the Ministers of Works of Corridor Member States and the Commissioner for Infrastructure of the ECOWAS Commission.
Their role he said, is to provide oversight guidance for the implementation of the project.
