During a two day meeting in Accra, Ghana, the NEPAD Agency engaged with representatives of the Infrastructure Directorate of the ECOWAS Commission and the Project Preparations Development Unit (PPDU) to develop a work-plan for implementation of the PIDA Capacity Building Project.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Adama Deen thanked ECOWAS for co-hosting the meeting, which paved the way for the roll out of the project in the region. 
 

Mr. Chris Appiah, representing the Commissioner, expressed great anticipation of this meeting following the discussion of the project with stakeholders earlier in the year during the PIDA Steering Committee Meeting in March.

This planning session between NPCA and ECOWAS ushers in the start of implementation activities of the PIDA Capacity Building project in West Africa. One of the PIDA flagship projects  inthis region is the Dakar-Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway Development Project. 

The project will entail modernization and upgrading of the West African Corridor comprising the construction of four one-stop border posts (OSBPs); extensive Transport/Trade facilitation &Corridor Management; Construction of a 6-Lane (2x3) dual-carriage highway from Abidjan to Lagos (where feasible); Spatial Development Initiatives scoping and diagnostics and Food Security and related community development .

The most travelled West African corridor is the Abidjan-Lagos Coastal Corridor. The more efficient transport system and border posts will ease border crossings, helping to increase regional trade and facilitate regional integration among ECOWAS countries. 

ECOWAS will under the PIDA Capacity Building Project focus on interventions to implement the Dakar-Abidjan Lagos Corridor including capacity buildingactivities and targeted stakeholder engagement for accelerating implementation.

LR: Mr. Chris Appiah, Transport Facilitation and Policy Expert, Infrastructure Directorate of the ECOWAS Commission, Ms. Flore Kamdong, Programme Assistant, NPCA; Mr. Adama Deen, Senior Advisor, Strategic Infrastructure Initiatives, NPCA; Ms Haabah Baldeh; Program Officer Air Transport (Economic Regulations and Policy), ECOWAS Commission; Mr. Shokunbi Olumuyiwa, Programme Officer, PPDU, ECOWAS; Ms. Janet Okero, Senior Programme Officer, Monitoring and Evaluation, ISBU/NPCA