The African Development Bank (AfDB) says its portfolio
investments in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region is
$20 billion.
This is contained in a statement released by the bank’s
Communication and External Relations Department on Sunday.
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It said that the bank’s President Akinwumi Adesina disclosed
this at the ECOWAS Summit held in Abuja on Saturday.
Mr. Adesina explained that the bank’s major focus was on
energy and transport infrastructure, private sector, regional financial market
integration, water and sanitation.
He said AfDB had been very responsive during critical times
that matter most as the bank was always there at the right time, with the right
product, for the right needs of countries.
Mr Adesina said one of the bank’s interventions was the case
in Nigeria where the bank helped to provide $600 million of budget support that
helped the country out of recession.
The president said the bank also provided $500 million to
establish the Development Bank of Nigeria.
Similarly, Mr Adesina disclosed that AfDB had recently
provided $280 million to support social investments in Côte d’Ivoire and also
gave $230 million for support toward stabilising livelihoods in North-East
Nigeria.
He noted that regional connectivity was critical to boost
trade and investments and it was at the core of work of the AfDB to ensure
regional integration.
“Take the case of airports, the bank supported with 525
million Euros for the construction of the Blaise Diagne International Airport
in Senegal.
“We supported with $120 million in construction of the new
Terminal 3 for Kotoka international airport in Ghana.
“The bank also helped with $30 million to construct the
Mandela Praia airport in Cape Verde.
“The Bank financed Air Côte d’Ivoire with $130 million for
the acquisition of a new aircraft fleet that has helped boost their capacity.
“We have invested as well in the development of ports,
including 60 million Euros for the Lomé Container Terminal port.
“The bank fully financed with 96 million dollars for the new
landmark Sene-Gambia Bridge that now links The Gambia and Senegal and the bank
also financed Regional Express Train of Senegal with 183 million Euros.”
Mr Adesina said during the bank’s second Africa Investment
Forum held in November, AfDB and its partners mobilised investments of $2.6
billion for the development of the Accra Sky Train and also $251 million toward
the Lagos Cable Car Transit System projects.
He further disclosed that the bank had also spent $1.5
billion for the development of major transport corridors to improve
interconnectivity in the ECOWAS region.
According to him, the projects included the construction and
rehabilitation of 4,000 kilometers of main corridor roads.
“The Lagos-Abidjan Highway will become a reality. It has to.
The President of the ECOWAS Commission, my dear brother Jean Claude is from
Côte d’Ivoire and I, President of the African Development Bank, I am from
Nigeria.
“You can be sure President Muhammadu Buhari will not let him
sleep from this end in Abuja and President Ouattara will not let me sleep at
the other end in Abidjan.
“Your Excellencies, to secure our sleep we will deliver on
this project. That’s why the African Development Bank has provided $11.1
million to the ECOWAS Commission to develop the Master Plan for the
Lagos-Abidjan highway corridor.
“And we will be providing an additional $13.5 million for
the feasibility studies to be completed in 2020. We expect that construction
will start in 2022,” he said.
(NAN)