By
Godwill Arthur-Mensah, GNA
Accra, Oct.18, GNA –
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Friday urged member countries of the
Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway Development Project to urgently establish an
Office of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Management Authority (ALCoMA) for
successful implementation of the project.
This, he said, would
ensure that issues relating to land acquisition and ownership, which have the
tendency to impact negatively on the project, were thoroughly managed, to
prevent any hitch in the implementation of the project.
He expressed
government of Ghana’s ability to host the Secretariat of the Authority since it
had the environment to do so, however, it would respect the final decision of
member countries.
He said with the
ratification of the treaty for the establishment of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor
Project by member countries, the signing of the Inter-Governmental Agreement
and ongoing feasibility and engineering studies, it was prudent to mount
communication strategy to sensitise people along the Corridor to get their support
and cooperation for successful implementation.
President Akufo-Addo
made the commendation in an address read on his behalf by Vice President
Mahamudu Bawumia at the opening of the 13th Ministerial Steering Committee
Meeting for the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway Development Project in Accra.
The Abidjan-Lagos
Steering Committee was commissioned by the Heads of State of the five
participating countries in 2014, to oversee the successful implementation of
the project.
The project would
involve the construction of 1,080 kilometres highways through major commercial
and administrative cities of Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, Benin and La Cote d’Ivoire.
The meeting
attracted Ministers of Roads and Infrastructure, Trades and Industry as well as
Infrastructure and Technical Commissioners from five partner countries in the
sub-region and the African Development Bank, to discuss the progress made so
far towards the mobilisation of resources to finance the project.
President Akufo-Addo
urged member states to find meaningful ways to deal decisively with payment of
compensation.
He was of the
conviction that, the integration of West African nations would promote trade
and business, especially with the coming into force of the Africa Continental
Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“The
significance of the development of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway, one of
the initiatives towards regional integration, cannot be lost on anyone,”
he added.
The project would
involve road infrastructure improvement, border posts restructuring, and soft
transport facilitation interventions to harmonise border control processes and
procedures to improve the free flow of goods and persons.
President Akufo-Addo
said the development of the Corridor has become more critical with the coming
into force of the AfCFTA, whose Secretariat is in Ghana, and would cover a
market of 1.2 billion people, with a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of
$3trillion, across 54 member states of the African Union.
The President said
the efforts being made by ECOWAS to source funding for the development of the
corridor project was gratifying, noting that, the African Development Bank, the
European Union and German Development Corporation (GIZ) were contributing funds
towards its implementation, whilst each of the five countries was contributing
$1.4million for the feasibility and detailed engineering studies.
‘”I encourage
other friends of Africa and financial institutions to consider supporting this
project, which is economically viable and has considerable potential.
“It is
important that member states take a good look at the legal and territorial
parameters of the project within the regional context, as well as project
management issues.
“Ghana has over
50% of the Corridor within its territory, and this makes us the most affected
by this project in terms of land take.
“Whilst the
benefits of the project are large, we must also be mindful of the environmental
and social impact the project may have on the people in the catchment areas.
“I hope that
the alignments for the project being proposed by the feasibility study, will
seek to minimise property impact and displacement of persons as much as
possible, “the President noted.
He said, the project
would require some resettlement, therefore “we should not be seen as
creating social problems or unduly and adversely impacting the lives of the
people within the corridor of influence”.
He said resettlement
issues should be appropriately addressed by the payment of adequate
compensations to affected persons, in accordance with the national laws of the
respective countries.
He urged member
countries to put in place a robust communication strategy to market the project
domestically, regionally and internationally to attract promoters and
investors.
“We should also
guarantee local content in the choice of contractors, consultants and others
for the development and management of the Corridor” he added.
“Ghana has
taken a keen interest in ensuring the inclusion of nationals in the development
of the infrastructure, thus, offering a wide range of job opportunities for
domestic businesses and labour,” he said.
He urged the
Ministerial Steering Committee to continue to work, and overcome any obstacles
that may arise during the implementation of this project.
He said the
Abidjan-Lagos Corridor was the right direction towards development and assured
of Government of Ghana’s commitment to the realisation of the Corridor.
GNA
