Jonathan, four other African leaders to build 6-lane highway from Lagos to Abidjan

President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with his counterparts from four other West African countries have agreed to invest and expand the Lagos-Abidjan highway into a six-lane road to among

others boost trade among them.

The leaders of the five countries – Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire – met on the sideline of the ongoing 21st Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union and agreed to commence the expansion project in 2014.

The highway will also provide a vital link to sea ports for the landlocked countries in the subregion including Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. It is also expected to augment the productive infrastructure of the subregion and make the corridor more viable for doing business.

Ghana's Foreign Minister Hanna S. Tetteh told journalists in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, that the five leaders have agreed to complete modalities for the joint funding of the project before the 2014 start date for the construction.

She disclosed that the sector ministers of the respective countries have been tasked to develop a blue print for the actualisation of the highway corridor project, and "this will be presented to the heads of state at the next ECOWAS Summit in July."