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By Nkiruka Nnorom
The ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) has approved $266.7 million and another XOF30 billion to support a portfolio of strategic infrastructure projects in Nigeria, The Gambia, Ghana, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire.
The approvals, granted at the 95th Session of the Board of Directors of the regional bank, underscored the bank’s continued commitment to advancing sustainable, inclusive, and resilient development in the region.
Specifically, the bank approved $100 million for the construction of the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, the strategic corridor, spanning nine coastal states. The project is expected to enhance national and regional connectivity, ease congestion, improve logistics efficiency, and stimulate regional trade.
It also approved $91.63 million for transport infrastructure development in Bauchi State and another $50 million for the construction of waste management facilities in Lagos State.
According to EBID, the infrastructure project in Bauch aligned with the National Development Plan, and would modernise road infrastructure, reduce logistics costs, improve access to essential services, open up agricultural zones, and incorporate climate-resilient construction techniques, while the waste management facilities project in Lagos, is expected to expand Lagos’s waste management infrastructure, increase the recycling rate to 45 percent, create over 5,000 jobs, produce 60,000 tons of organic compost annually, and reduce public health risks.
Others are XOF 20 billion credit line to BNDE, Senegal, to enhance BNDE’s capacity to finance small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and industries, support agricultural value chains, improve access to housing, and promote sustainable employment, particularly for women and youth.
Construction of a tissue paper $15 million manufacturing plant in Ghana; $10.04 million for expansion of G Farms Ltd.’s operations in The Gambia and XOF 10 billion credit line to Afriland First Bank Côte d’Ivoire to support the financing of MSMEs and SMEs, strengthen the bank’s capacity to fund the real sector, promote productive investments, and foster job creation and inclusive growth.
Speaking at the meeting, Dr. George Donkor underscored the transformative reach of the new commitments, saying that the projects reflected EBID’s commitment to strengthening the foundations of long-term economic development across the ECOWAS region, enhancing competitiveness and resilience while advancing sustainable and inclusive growth.
“These interventions reflect our ambition to support Member States in structuring value-creating projects that are fully aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. By investing in infrastructure, agro-industry, environmental management, and industrial transformation, we are strengthening the foundations of a more resilient, inclusive, and integrated growth trajectory within West Africa.
“The diversity of these projects underscores EBID’s capacity to catalyse high-impact regional initiatives and support the sustainable transformation of its Member States,” Dr. Donkor stated.