DailySun
This article is part of a series developed in collaboration with the African Development Bank as it marks its 60th anniversary. For further details about the Bank’s impact and initiatives across Africa, please visit our dedicated portal.
The Africa Investment Forum (AIF), set to occur in Morocco this December, will provide a platform for the African Development Bank and its partners to reaffirm their commitment to investing in regional corridors. Leaders will engage in dynamic discussions about the concrete measures their countries and organizations are implementing to enhance regional connectivity, while also showcasing remarkable projects that facilitate deeper integration throughout Africa.
Nardos Bekele-Thomas, CEO of AUDA-NEPAD, highlighted the Chirundu one-stop border post connecting Zambia and Zimbabwe as a prime success story. This project has dramatically reduced cargo clearance times, decreasing from over 48 hours in 2022 to under 14 hours in 2024—an outstanding decrease of 60%. In a similar vein, the Cinkansé one-stop border post linking Burkina Faso and Togo has shortened border crossing times from 2-3 days to just 1-2 hours.
“Our integrated corridor strategy focuses on transportation, energy, digital connectivity, and industrial clusters, while also prioritizing job creation, urban-rural linkages, and climate resilience. Connecting Africa is tantamount to empowering Africa,” she stated during the closing ceremony of the AIF.
Samaila Zubairu, CEO of the African Finance Corporation, expressed excitement about the swift progress of initiatives designed to enhance connectivity, highlighting the Lobito corridor in Angola. “The Lobito Corridor exemplifies a project for which we signed the MoU just a year ago, and it has swiftly advanced,” he remarked.
Key projects taking shape
The Lobito Corridor, with an estimated investment of $10 billion, encompasses railways, roads, bridges, telecommunications, energy, and agribusiness efforts. Among the primary stakeholders in this venture is the African Development Bank, which has committed approximately $500 million, alongside the African Finance Corporation acting as the main Project Developer, and the Development Bank of Southern Africa leading the initial phase.
This corridor is expected to create thousands of jobs and foster regional integration across Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Zambia. In October 2023, international allies such as the United States and the European Commission signed a Memorandum of Understanding to mobilize support for the Lobito Corridor.
Another noteworthy project on the horizon is the ambitious Abidjan-Lagos Highway Corridor, set to begin construction in 2026. This transcontinental coastal highway, measuring 1,028 km, will link Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria, creating an economic corridor likely to stimulate regional trade and growth.
The initiative gained significant momentum during the 2022 AIF Market Days, drawing $15.6 billion in investment interest. The African Development Bank has already allocated $25 million to accelerate the preparatory phase of this vital corridor.
Once completed, the highway will feature a roadway with four to six lanes, expanding to eight lanes in Lagos. It will connect key economic centers, including Abidjan, Takoradi, Accra, Lomé, Cotonou, Porto-Novo, and Lagos—areas projected to host 173 million urban residents by 2050. The route from Abidjan to Lagos currently accounts for 75% of West Africa’s commercial activities, underscoring the project’s strategic importance.
Significantly, the project extends beyond just transportation. The Spatial Development Initiative, backed by the African Development Bank, has identified several specific interventions requiring around $6.8 billion in investments across sectors such as renewable energy, manufacturing, and agriculture. These initiatives are anticipated to deliver $16 billion in additional economic benefits and create over 60,000 direct jobs and 70,000 indirect job opportunities.
Connecting Africa to the world
To fully harness its economic potential, Africa must ensure that its countries are not only interconnected but also well integrated into the global economy, asserted Leila Benali, Moroccan Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development.
Benali underscored Morocco’s essential role as a bridge between Africa and the wider world, noting that the national sustainability strategy aims to strengthen Morocco’s position as a key link between Africa, Europe, and the Atlantic Basin. She emphasized that investments in the country’s clean energy infrastructure are critical for unlocking the continent’s potential. “Morocco will act as a corridor connecting Europe and Africa,” she concluded.
