West Africa: ECOWAS To Strengthen Regional Connectivity With Cavalla River Bridge Handover

Ecowas
Plan View (artiste impression) of the Cavalla bridge and its approach roads.
3 October 2024
Economic Community of West African States (Abuja)
press release

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will officially hand over the construction the site for the construction of the Cavalla River Bridge, connecting Côte d'Ivoire and Liberia, on October 2, 2024. This landmark infrastructure project is another giant step towards ECOWAS’s commitment to enhancing transport interconnectivity, cross-border trade, economic cooperation, and regional integration across West Africa.

The Cavalla River Bridge, a critical project aligned with of the strategic objectives of the ECOWAS’s Vision 2050, is designed to improve the movement of goods and people between Côte d'Ivoire and Liberia, and the ECOWAS Region in general. It is also a key connector of the Praia-Dakar-Abidjan Corridor, which forms part of the 5th section of the continental Trans-Africa Highway network. The project is in line with the President of the ECOWAS Commission, H.E. Dr. Omar Alieu Touray’s 4 x 4 strategy of promoting regional integration, peace, economic stability, and deepening regional ties between member states.

Supported by the African Development Bank, the project highlights a coordinated effort between ECOWAS and the governments of Côte d'Ivoire and Liberia to significantly reduce transportation costs and travel time. This initiative represents a key milestone in ECOWAS’s long-term goals of sustainable development and regional connectivity for community citizens.

About ECOWAS

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was established when the ECOWAS Treaty was signed by 15 West African Heads of State and Government on the 28th of May 1975 in Lagos, Nigeria. The ECOWAS region spans an area of 5.2 million square kilometres. The Member States are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Togo.

Considered one of the pillars of the African Economic Community, ECOWAS was set up to promote co-operation and integration, leading to the establishment of an economic union in West Africa to raise the living standards of its peoples, and to maintain and enhance economic stability, foster relations-among Member States and contribute to the progress and development of the African continent.

In 2007, ECOWAS Secretariat was transformed into a Commission. The Commission is headed by the President, assisted by a Vice President, and Five Commissioners, comprising experienced bureaucrats who are providing the leadership in this new orientation.  As part of thisrenewal process, ECOWAS is implementing critical and strategic programmes that will deepen cohesion and progressively eliminate identified barriers to full integration. In this way, the estimated 300 million citizens of the community can ultimately take ownership for the realization of the new vision of moving from an ECOWAS of States to an “ECOWAS of the People: Peace and Prosperity to All” by 2050

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