AfDB set to invest $15bn in Lagos-Abidjan Highway corridor
Joseph Irikefe
The African Development Bank (AfDB), has confirmed plans to invest $15 billion into the long-anticipated Lagos-Abidjan Highway Corridor, an infrastructure project expected to boost regional trade and mobility across five West African nations.
The announcement was made during the formal opening ceremony of the 2025 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank Group, held in Abidjan.
In a keynote address by the President of the AfDB Group, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, he emphasised the strategic importance of the corridor and its potential to transform West Africa’s economic landscape.
He also expressed gratitude as he bowed out of the AfDB presidency: “As I complete my two five-year terms as President of the African Development Bank, I am proud of the legacy we are leaving behind for my successor, for the Bank, and for Africa,” he stated.
“The Bank supported the Noor Ouarzazate solar complex in Morocco, which was the world’s largest concentrated solar power plant at the time of its completion.”
“We launched the Lagos to Abidjan highway corridor for which the African Development Bank is supporting the feasibility studies, and we have mobilised $15 billion in investment interests,” Adesina stated.
He disclosed that in Nigeria, the bank is implementing the development of special agro-industrial processing zones in eight states and the FCT and have mobilized $2.9 billion to support the establishment of these zones in 28 more states of Nigeria.
He said, “We have stood by countries that were under sanctions to clear their debt arrears to the Bank, including Somalia and Sudan,” adding that in over 10 years of his presidency, the AfDB would have provided a total of $102 billion in support to Africa. “This represents 46 per cent of all the financing of the bank since its establishment in 1964,” Adesina affirmed.
According to him, the bank financed over $55 billion in support of infrastructure, from roads, rails, airports, seaports, digital and communications, health, water and sanitation.
Stretching approximately 1028 kilometers, the Lagos-Abidjan Highway Corridor will traverse Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire, connecting major urban and economic hubs along the West African coast. Once completed, the highway is expected to catalyse commerce across the ECOWAS region, reduce travel times, lower logistics costs, and enhance regional integration in line with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) goals.
Adesina also disclosed that the bank accelerated regional integration with massive support for infrastructure to support the African Continental Free Trade Area during the 10 years of his presidency.”
He highlighted the bank’s investments in railways, roads, ports, and energy systems across the continent.
“Among the major transport corridors supported by the AfDB are: The Addis Ababa–Nairobi–Mombasa corridor, which reduced travel time from three days to one; Tanzania’s $3.2 billion standard gauge railway project and the Senegambia Bridge linking Senegal and The Gambia, which slashed travel time from two days to under ten minutes,” Adesina said.
He pointed to tangible improvements in the lives of over 565 million Africans due to the bank’s interventions in energy access, health, sanitation, ICT, food security, and infrastructure. The AfDB’s infrastructure investments alone totalled over $55 billion in the past 10 years.
In Côte d’Ivoire, the host country of the 2025 Annual Meetings, the Bank’s financial support grew by 500 per cent over the last decade, contributing to flagship projects like the Henri Konan Bédié Bridge and the iconic 4th Bridge in Abidjan.
Adesina also acknowledged strong support from African leaders, including Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, for approving the $500 million replenishment of the Nigeria Trust Fund for another 15 years.
As his presidency nears its conclusion, Adesina reaffirmed his commitment to the continent.