INFRASTRUCTURE

2.1. Road transport:

To achieve its objective of economic integration and development of transport and trade between Member States, ECOWAS is seeking to implement programmes to facilitate road transport and transit through a specific approach for each corridor. ECOWAS has thus defined the following as priority integration roads: the trans-coastal highway linking Lagos and Nouakchott via Dakar (4 560km), the Dakar-N‟Djamena trans-Sahelian highway (4 460km), interstate roads which involve the construction of the missing links along the above-mentioned highways or the rehabilitation of roads linking landlocked countries (Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger) to maritime ports.

The construction of the Lagos-Abidjan “toll” highway, with six lanes and separate dual carriageways, is considered as a high priority by ECOWAS. This 1 028 kilometres long Lagos-Abidjan corridor accounts for approximately 70% of all regional transit traffic, is home to more than 30 million inhabitants and serves as transit to 75% of trade in West Africa. It not only links certain major towns in West Africa, such as Lagos, Cotonou, Accra, Lome and Abidjan, but also and above all, links dynamic maritime ports which serve landlocked countries in the sub-region, like Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

An Agreement was signed by the presidents of the countries concerned, on the sidelines of the ECOWAS Summit held in March 2014 in Yamoussoukro, Côte d‟Ivoire, and the Terms of Reference for the feasibility and technical studies on the construction of the highway were defined. The countries concerned agreed to provide USD 50 million as start-up capital, so as to speed up the conduct of the studies. Several partner countries and the African Union would like to contribute to the implementation of this important integration project in West Africa.

Similar efforts are made by ECOWAS to promote the construction of the Trans-Gambia Bridge and the rehabilitation of 137 km road linking the North and South of Gambia and Senegal, with financial assistance from the African Development Bank. The programme for the Trans-West African Coastal Highway is also underway, with the construction of three bridges in Sierra Leone and a section of the road between the Moa Bridge and the Liberian border, which represent the missing links of the Coastal Highway, as well as the construction of the Zinder-Nigeria border road and the Koupela Piega-Fada Gourma- Niger Border along the Trans-Sahelian Highway.

All of these projects are part of the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), in which ECOWAS coordinates the regional component (see Table 5).

Table 5: List of PIDA projects in West Africa

Source: Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa

Moreover, ECOWAS has established a Transport and Transit Facilitation Programme, the main component of which is building five common border posts along the main corridors. ECOWAS is also implementing a policy to harmonise axle load standards.

Significant progress has been observed in the implementation of the West Africa Trade Hub (WATH), a regional trade facilitation project, supported by USAID since 2003 to enhance competitiveness in West Africa, promote exportation from West Africa, improve the business environment and promote regional integration.

Project title Summary description Total cost

(US$ millions) enhancement and implementation of PPP) for four countries: Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger

Improve marine transport and the connection between island and mainland countries by creating a new maritime service between regional ports and a modern information system to link the maritime service with ports and roads in the Dakar-Abidjan Corridor. Would also modernise one of the most heavily travelled ARTIN corridors in West Africa.

Trade facilitation, OSBPs, capacity enhancement (possibly through PPP) for eight countries : Cabo Verde, Senegal, Gambie, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra-Leone, Liberia, Côte-d‟Ivoire

damaged by civil war in Côte d'Ivoire 540

Côte-d‟Ivoire,

Address future capacity problems in West African ports with two components: (a) a regional hub port

and rail linkage master plan and (b) port expansion 2 140 15 countries, PMAWCA

West Africa Air Transport

Increase air transport service levels in West Africa, which are currently limited by the lack of a regional

air hub 420 15 countries

Within the framework of improving the business environment, the Trade Hub is setting up Border Information Posts and serves as an incubator for the Borderless Alliance (see Box 4 below), an alliance led by the private sector to advocate for trade facilitation. The Trade Hub is also working to develop a regional transport observatory with greater geographical mandates and coverage than those of the current Abnormal Practices Observatory (APO).

2.2. Rail transport:

ECOWAS has undertaken to revive and modernise the railway network. The construction and rehabilitation of rail networks have therefore become regional priorities. To this end, the ECOWAS Commission conducted a study in 2008 with a view to elaborate a master plan for the interconnection and modernisation of railway networks in the region. This master plan on the development of region’s railway network has been adopted by ECOWAS statutory bodies.

In April 2013, ECOWAS undertook to update the master plan in order to:

 redefine, to the extent possible, priorities for the rehabilitation of existing lines and/or the construction of new lines;

 examine the possibility of linking The Gambia, Guinea Bissau and Sierra Leone to existing rail networks or those to be constructed in the other Member States;

 examine the possibility of new rail links in Guinea and Liberia and their interconnection to existing networks or those to be constructed; and

 present the new master plan that contains all ECOWAS railway network interconnections, with the links shown by order of priority.

Within this framework, a detailed technical study on the Abidjan-Ouagadougou- Kaya-Dori-Niamey stretch was conducted, with the objective of linking the South-east region of Mali (Asongo), Niamey and Ouagadougou to the Cotonou and Abidjan ports. The effective launch of the construction of the rail loop connecting Niger-Benin-Burkina and Côte d‟Ivoire also took place on 7 April 2014.

Box 5: Borderless Alliance

(Site Web : http://www.borderlesswa.com)

The Borderless Alliance is composed of the following countries: Nigeria, Niger, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina, Mali and Senegal and seeks to cover all ECOWAS countries. The approach now used focuses on the following corridors: (i) Lagos – Abidjan – Tema – Ouagadougou; (ii) Ouagadougou – Bamako (two lanes); (iii) Dakar – Bamako; (iv) Cotonou – Niamey; (v) Abidjan – Ouagadougou; (vi) Abidjan – Bamako;

(vii) Lomé – Ouagadougou.

WAEMU has established an Abnormal Practices Observatory (APO), member countries of which include all WAEMU countries (except Guinea Bissau) and Ghana. The Alliance was born out of a campaign conducted in June 2010 (Borderless campaign). A study conducted on the trade liberalization scheme highlighted discrepancies in implementation practice.

Through the USAID Trade Hub Project, an awareness campaign for the private sector and the States on free movement as a factor of prosperity and regional integration was conducted.

The Alliance belongs to the Private Sector and 60 companies are members of this process.

The first line of action is advocacy for the implementation by the States of protocols they have adopted. The primary targets are actors at the borders.

Border posts were thus set up by the Alliance, with retired customs officers, to assist all stakeholders and train actors at the borders (customs officers, forwarding agents). Information is gathered and forwarded weekly to help in the preparation of quarterly reports and an annual report that is presented at the General Assembly of the Alliance.

These posts also take actions with immediate effects, like giving practical advice to address obstacles to trade which arise on the field.

Plans are underway to develop a West African driver’s handbook.

In 2010, a survey of a sample of 240 trucks was conducted to assess the time spent for border clearance. The idea is to conduct a survey every 6 months, to assess the impact of the Alliance's actions and bring stakeholders together to evaluate recommendations addressed to various stakeholders. With regard to barriers within countries (checkpoints), the Alliance supports the initiatives that the Abnormal Practices Observatory has been carrying out in this domain, by providing technical assistance to reporting on checkpoints, delays and illicit charges. The CILSS is also involved in monitoring the movement of agricultural products.

The APO and the Alliance are complementary. WAEMU has focal points in countries to gather information for the APO, its own project. The Alliance, on its part, conducts verification missions.

In terms of organisation, the Alliance is run by a staff of 10 officers. Financial resources are derived from member contributions, USAID and ECOWAS (as part of joint activities).

Source : Interviews conducted at Borderless Alliance by the Authors

2.3. Air transport:

Until now, ECOWAS has focused on establishing, in each country, safe and reliable air transport systems to ensure connection between Member States and equal access of airlines that meet air transport market conditions in West Africa, rather than on modernizing airports.

The capacity building programme for institutions in charge of Aviation Safety Oversight in Member States within the framework of COSCAP programmes has made significant progress which resulted in the creation of a Sub-regional Aviation Safety Oversight Organisation (BAGASOO) in 2010 bringing together seven Member States.

The ECOWAS Commission also conducted a study on the implementation status of the Yamoussoukro Decision (YD) by Member States, in a bid to appraise Member States' compliance with the YD and examine actions required to remove bottlenecks with the aim of implementing a Liberalized Air Transport Market within ECOWAS. It is encouraging to see that all Member States are working hard to achieve this general objective in the air transport sector.

ECOWAS is also working to promote a viable air transport industry in the region. A Steering Committee for ECOWAS airlines was therefore set up. The ECOWAS Commission is also promoting the establishment of a regional aircraft easing company.

2.4. Maritime and inland waterway transport:

A project to create a sub-regional maritime company, called ECOMARINE International, has been discussed for several years within ECOWAS States. The absence of maritime connections between member countries is severely impeding regional trade (this is particularly the case for the Cabo Verde Island).