Keypoints:
- ALCoMA appoints inaugural chairman to lead the corridor authority
- AfDB strengthens financing role as lead arranger for the project
- Highway aims to reduce transport costs and deepen regional trade integration
THE $15bn Abidjan-Lagos Highway has moved closer to construction after the Authority established to deliver the project appointed its first chairman and approved new measures to accelerate financing, recruitment and implementation planning, marking the project’s clearest advance beyond years of institutional preparation.
The decisions, taken during the inaugural board meeting of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Management Authority (ALCoMA) in Lagos, represent the Authority’s first operational actions since its establishment under a multilateral treaty. They lay the institutional foundations for mobilising investment, coordinating procurement and delivering a six-lane regional corridor expected to strengthen trade across five West African economies while advancing implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
ALCoMA begins operational work
The board appointed Beninese finance executive Wilfried Lauriano do Rego as ALCoMA’s inaugural chairman for a two-year term. Directors also established interim finance and human resources committees, approved a roadmap for recruiting the Authority’s executive management team and admitted the African Development Bank (AfDB) as a non-voting board member in recognition of its role as lead arranger for the project.
Do Rego brings more than three decades of experience in corporate finance, governance and auditing. He currently chairs Finafrica Assurances Sénégal and serves as a director of Ecobank Cote d’Ivoire.
He will oversee the Authority as it coordinates financing, procurement, operations and implementation of the 1,081-kilometre corridor linking Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria.
Unlike many cross-border infrastructure projects, the Abidjan-Lagos Highway will be developed and managed as a single supranational asset. Under the treaty establishing ALCoMA, the Authority is responsible for coordinating financing, procurement, technical standards, operations and long-term maintenance across all five participating countries, providing investors with a unified institutional framework and consistent governance arrangements.
Financing momentum builds
The governance milestone comes as regional institutions intensify efforts to mobilise investment for the corridor.
In April 2026, the African Development Bank and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) led a joint investment mission during which the five participating governments reaffirmed their commitment to the project. That initiative built on earlier efforts to establish the corridor authority and financing framework, as detailed in Africa Briefing’s coverage of ECOWAS and AfDB’s push to advance the Abidjan-Lagos Highway.
The mission consolidated more than 200 investment proposals into 26 priority projects spanning transport, logistics, energy, mining and industrial development, reinforcing plans to transform the highway into a wider economic development corridor rather than simply a cross-border road.
The project is expected to be financed through a mix of sovereign contributions, development finance, guarantees, climate finance and private capital.
The African Development Bank has already committed $25m to technical studies and is discussing mobilisation of an additional $500m from the African Development Fund’s regional operations envelope alongside other financing mechanisms. The Bank’s involvement also reflects its broader commitment to regional connectivity through major infrastructure programmes, including the initiatives highlighted in its agreement with ECOWAS on the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway.
Why the corridor matters
The Abidjan-Lagos corridor already carries more than 50 million tonnes of freight each year and supports one of Africa’s busiest economic regions.
However, inefficient border procedures, customs delays and numerous checkpoints continue to constrain regional commerce.
According to project feasibility studies, freight vehicles can take up to 17 days to travel between Lagos and Abidjan. Logistics costs account for between 30 percent and 40 percent of the final price of goods in parts of West Africa, reducing competitiveness and increasing costs for businesses and consumers.
Once completed, the six-lane highway is expected to reduce transport times, lower logistics costs and improve the movement of goods and people across the five participating countries. It is also expected to strengthen regional supply chains, support implementation of AfCFTA and serve an urban population projected to reach approximately 173 million people by 2050.
Africa Briefing has previously examined how the Abidjan-Lagos Highway could transform regional trade, highlighting its long-term potential to reshape logistics, industrial development and economic integration across West Africa.
The corridor is widely regarded as one of Africa’s most ambitious regional infrastructure programmes because it combines transport investment with logistics, industrial development and economic integration under a single governance framework.
Governance designed to attract investment
The latest decisions also provide greater institutional certainty for development partners and private investors considering participation in the project. By operating through a single supranational authority rather than separate national agencies, ALCoMA is intended to streamline procurement, harmonise technical standards and provide unified oversight throughout the corridor, addressing one of the principal governance challenges associated with major cross-border infrastructure projects.
Challenges remain
Despite the governance breakthrough, substantial work remains before construction can begin.
ALCoMA must complete recruitment of its executive leadership, secure financing commitments from development partners and private investors, finalise procurement arrangements and coordinate implementation across five sovereign governments. Land acquisition, environmental approvals and sustained political cooperation will also be critical to maintaining momentum.
If financing is secured on schedule and implementation proceeds as planned, the Abidjan-Lagos Highway is expected to become one of Africa’s largest cross-border transport projects, reshaping trade, logistics and regional integration across five ECOWAS economies over the coming decades.
