With new investments in excess of $57 billion for the ports, road and rail transport sector, the travel business is likely to be the first to be impacted directly and indirectly by the development.

As West African countries will later this month meet in Lagos to chart path to integrated ports, road and rail transport sector, experts in the travel and aviation sector have said the investment will have ripple effect on ease of travelling from one country to another.

The new cooperation, which is the central focus of the West African Ports and Rail Evolution Event (WA-PoRa) holding in Lagos, is in lieu of emerging needs and opportunities from economic integration in the region.

Experts, at a roundtable meeting recently, were unanimous that the West African transportation corridor is arguably the least integrated passage in the world, despite enormous opportunities that abound.

With a teeming population of well over 390 million and high economic growth index in some of the countries, there is now a greater impetus on the part of governments of the ECOWAS States to help speed up and sustain economic growth through a regional integration transport policy to link West African cities and states together via ports, rail and road.

Graham Lawal, managing director, Grolla Port Services, said the West African trade is booming, as more shipping lines are finding their way to the ports.

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More so, this has led to huge expansion projects and plans to build new terminals all over the region.

“In order to unlock the West African hinterland, ports and rail authorities are working together to set up new logistics infrastructure where investment figures of single projects in the sector go up to $10 billion.

“With 50 per cent of ports and terminal operators wanting to expand their port facilities and over $57 billion worth of infrastructure projects being  rolled out for the region, all eyes are on West Africa to make it a more integrated transport corridor as it is with its Southern African neighbours, and as it sits on the cusp of an infrastructure boom,” Lawal said.

He said further that there is no better time than now to put the limelight on Nigeria and the West African neighbours to discuss opportunities in the sector at the upcoming West African Ports and Rail Evolution, taking place in Lagos on July 22 and 23.

Portfolio Director for Transport, DMG events South Africa, Daniel Bloch, noted that the West Africa has a lot to learn from the Southern region, especially countries like South Africa, Mozambique and Namibia, among others.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.

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