By Summary
- ECOWAS convenes regional forum in Lagos to strengthen legal and regulatory frameworks for PPPs.
- Forum spotlights major corridor projects and challenges in securing bankable regional infrastructure deals.
- Member states and partners like the World Bank and AECID strategize on harmonizing PPP policies and attracting private investment.
Lagos, Nigeria – The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has hosted its Fourth Regional Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) Forum in Lagos, Nigeria, with a strong focus on strengthening legal frameworks to support sustainable infrastructure development across West Africa.
Organized by ECOWAS’s Project Preparation and Development Unit (PPDU), the two-day forum, which ran from May 15–16, 2025, convened PPP experts, national regulators, and development partners under the theme “Strengthening Legal Frameworks for Sustainable PPPs.”
The event aimed to address challenges in legal and regulatory environments while sharing country-level experiences and tools to accelerate the implementation of regional PPPs.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Keba Fye, Acting Director of the PPDU, speaking on behalf of ECOWAS Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitisation, Mr. Sediko Douka, emphasized the importance of the forum’s alignment with the PPDU’s mission.
“The forum is in alignment with the mandate of the PPDU to promote the development of PPPs in the region,” he said.
Fye noted, however, that the proliferation of bankable regional PPP projects remains hindered by fragmented national regulations, technical capacity gaps, and investor concerns about risk and the enabling environment.
“There are still gaps and challenges to ensuring the proliferation of bankable regional PPP projects,” he added.
Participants included representatives from ECOWAS member states, the ECOWAS Commission, UEMOA, and partners such as the World Bank, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), ADB, IsDB, GIZ, EBID, and BOAD. They reviewed successful case studies from Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal, and were introduced to a new regional PPP screening and prioritization tool.
The forum concluded with a commitment to adopt actionable strategies to harmonize regional PPP frameworks, boost collaboration among national agencies, and unlock private financing through improved risk mitigation measures—particularly for flagship regional projects like the Lagos–Abidjan and Praia–Dakar–Abidjan highway corridors.
