The Board of Directors of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Management Authority (ALCoMA) has appointed Beninois finance expert Wilfried Lauriano do Rego as board chairman for a two-year term, at its inaugural meeting held in Lagos, Nigeria.
The meeting, held on 11 and 12 June, defined actions needed to guide the corridor's medium- and long-term transformation, and provide a strategic direction to achieve the objectives adopted by the Heads of State of the five corridor member countries.
Do Rego's appointment is in accordance with the Intergovernmental Agreement, which provides for alphabetical rotation among member states starting with the Republic of Benin. Jacques Ayadji, also from Benin, automatically assumes the role of Vice-Chairperson.
Do Rego brings extensive experience, with more than 36 years as a chartered accountant and auditor, having served on the boards of major multinational corporations, financial institutions, including private equity and infrastructure funds.
The 1,081 km Abidjan-Lagos Corridor, estimated to cost $15 billion, is one of Africa's most ambitious infrastructure projects. It entails the construction of a six-lane supranational highway linking the capitals and major economic centres of Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria, while integrating trade and transport facilitation, value chain development and logistics components.
The project is expected to become a major driver of economic and industrial development in West Africa by 2030. The ECOWAS Commission, the African Development Bank Group (Bank Group), ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), the West African Development Bank (BOAD) are working together with other partners to mobilise the financing.
The Board also established two interim subcommittees to accelerate the Authority's activities during the start-up phase. The first is the Interim Human Resources and Remuneration Committee, tasked to oversee a competitive recruitment process for ALCoMA's Chief Executive Officer and Legal and Corporate Secretary, and with reviewing remuneration and benefits structures. The second, the Interim Finance Committee, will support the ALCoMA to mobilise financing for the highway, and oversee finance-related activities, including corridor-related risks and revenues.
The Board also took note of the appointment of the Director of Transport, Chris Appiah, as the representative of the Economic Community of West African States on the Board.
African Development Bank appointed non-voting member of the Board
Another major outcome of the meeting, attended by Mike Salawou, Director of the Infrastructure and Urban Development Department of the Bank Group, was the unanimous approval of the Bank Group as a non-voting member of the Board. This decision recognises the AAA-rated institution's essential role in financing all technical studies with the support of the European Union. It also reflects its designation by the Ministerial Steering Committee as the lead arranger for the investments required to build and operate the supranational highway, in collaboration with ALCoMA, EBID and the ECOWAS Commission.
The Board called on development partners, including the European Union and the World Bank, to support construction of the highway and ALCoMA's operations. However, it expressed a preference for such support to be channelled through ALCoMA's coordination mechanism, currently managed collaboratively by the Bank Group, ECOWAS and EBID, to ensure coherence and effectiveness. In this regard, the Board approved the establishment of a joint African Development Bank-ECOWAS-EBID Project Management Office, as recommended by the Bank Group.
The Board expressed satisfaction with the joint African Development Bank and ECOWAS investment identification mission to corridor member states, during which the countries reaffirmed their commitment to the investment phase with letters of commitment.
It welcomed the African Development Bank's ongoing discussions to mobilise catalytic capital of $500 million from the ADF-17 Regional Operations envelope; performance-based allocations from the African Development Fund for Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Togo, as well as resources from the ADB window for Benin, Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria.
These resources will be complemented by other Bank Group financial instruments, including viability gap financing; partial risk and credit guarantees for local-currency bonds; non-sovereign operations, and climate finance through the Global Center on Adaptation partnership (GCA). GCA brings together governments, banks and private sector to accelerate climate adaptation projects and mobilise financing.
The Board adopted a roadmap for operationalising the Authority, including key milestones such as the immediate recruitment of the Chief Executive Officer, the Legal and Corporate Secretary, and key directors.
