A major road project will be carried out in West Africa. The $15.6 billion financing deal is being organized through the African Development Bank (AfDB). The new highway route will link the capital of Côte d'Ivoire, Abidjan, with Lagos, the economic hub of Nigeria, one of Africa's strongest economies. The route will stretch a long distance along the coast and will also pass through Ghana, Benin and Togo. The new highway will improve transportation in West Africa and provide the region with much-needed economic growth.

Earlier Benin President Patrice Talon and Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou said they were looking into cooperating with China to implement an ambitious West African highway loop plan. But the plan had been shelved for years. The project is a 1,000-kilometer stretch of a 3,000-kilometer loop connecting Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Niger, Benin and Togo.

Growth was relatively strong in Nigeria and Ghana, but the economies of many other countries in the region are struggling. The route will improve access to some of the main ports in West Africa, which will greatly benefit landlocked countries in the north such as Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, three of the world's poorest countries. The construction of new highways is an important initiative of the Infrastructure Development Plan for Africa (PIDA).Editor/XingWentao