- AfDB, ECOWAS and WAPP collaborate to expand the energy market.
- The project covers 14 of the 15 ECOWAS states.
- AfDB also funded the Lome-Cotonou road for easy transportation.
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the West African Power Pool (WAPP) are collaborating to expand Africa’s energy market. According to the Bank, the goal is to guarantee that West Africa receives higher quality and quantity of energy.
In a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday, Ms Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, Director-General, West Africa Regional Development and Business Delivery Office of the Bank, noted that the project covers 14 of the 15 member nations of the regional economic community, including Burkina Faso, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
According to Akin-Olugbade, the Bank was proud of the investment it had made and that it had sponsored numerous power transmission lines.” We have financed many transmission lines, which will be for electricity transmission. Now, we will reap the return of some of these investments because, with these facilities, energy will truly circulate in these countries. After all, these countries have a very low energy access rate. Therefore, we are working with the government to ensure that we have the growth of clean energy to change the lives of millions of inhabitants in the region.”
” We have some energy transition projects in West Africa and Nigeria, and we believe in ensuring sustainability, fairness and a just energy transition.”
Regarding transportation infrastructure, she stated that the Bank had funded a road project along the Lome-Cotonou corridor, which had shortened the time it took to transport products from Burkina Faso to the port of Lome. She asserts that African nations need strong connectivity if the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) is to become a reality.