A new highway in West Africa will connect Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana and Ivory Coast – image courtesy of © Valeriy Kaplun, Dreamstime.com
A new highway connection between the West African nations of Nigeria and Ivory Coast is being planned. The route will connect Nigeria’s commercial centre (and former capital) Lagos with the capital of Ivory Coast, Abidjan.
The alignment for the route has yet to be revealed but the road will also pass through Benin, Togo and Ghana. Given that Lagos and Abidjan are both on the Atlantic coast, it seems likely that the route will also pass through Benin's capital Porto Novo, Togo's capital Lome and Ghana's capital Accra, all of which are also on the coast. A funding package worth US$32.8 billion has been put together by the African Development Bank (AfDB), which will be used for an array of infrastructure projects across Africa to boost economic development following the global pandemic. Around $15.6 billion of this package will be directed towards the construction of the Lagos to Abidjan highway.
The route will feature three lanes in either direction on some of the busiest stretches although for the majority of its length it will feature two lanes in either direction. Construction of the highway will ease transport between Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria. Completion of the work is expected in 2028
