The draft report on the Study relating to the Development of a Master Plan for ECOWAS Regional Infrastructure has been validated, subject to the consultant’s taking due account of observations thereof to be incorporated into the consolidated report.

Following the presentations made at the workshop, a number of observations and recommendations were made by participants during the workshop to validate the draft Infrastructure Master Plan, held from 9 to 11 August 2016, in Lomé, Togo.

The presentations focused mainly on the terms of reference that led to the formulation, methodology and completed stages of the master plan, as well as the assessment of regional infrastructure (transport, energy, information and communication technology – ITC – and water resources).

The participants also considered the strategic framework for the development of infrastructure, definition of the criteria for projects classification and selection as well as list/portfolio of regional transport, energy, ICT and water resources projects.

During working group activities, participants’ discussed projects that were selected for the regional transport, energy, ICT and water resources plans as well as financing the master plan of the ECOWAS regional infrastructural development and the challenges of their preparation and implementation.

The consultant in charge of the study will take due account of participants’ comments and recommendations made at the end of the presentations with a view to preparing subsequent reports.  The reports will be presented during follow-up validation workshops.

The workshop revealed the complexity of projects preparation as a broad task which requires technical and marketing skills.

The participants emphasized that a good project preparation depends on taking due account of the conditions of offer, demand as well as the economic, financial, social and environmental factors to make the projects bankable.

In that regard, the report of the study should include the need for ECOWAS to mobilise funding for projects preparation.

The consultant was also requested to point out in his study report that the Community territory is an enabling environment for investments.

Experts of Member States, officials of the Projects Preparation and Development Unit (PPDU) and ECOWAS Commission’s Departments of Transport, Energy, ICT and Water Resources participated in the Lomé workshop.

Representatives from some specialised agencies of the ECOWAS Commission particularly the West African Power Pool (WAPP) and the Water Resources Coordination Centre also participated in the workshop.

The representatives of regional economic and financial institutions such as the West African Development Bank (BOAD) and the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) and other regional institutions such as the African Society for Biofuels and Renewable Energy (SABER) as well as the Senegal River Development Organisation (OMVS) were also in attendance.

At the closing ceremony, the OMVS High Commissioner, former Prime Minister of Guinea, Kabiné Komara expressed satisfaction with the workshop’s deliberations.

He thanked the participants and commended them for their contributions and active participation in the workshop.  He enjoined them to give a true account of the outcomes of the workshop to their respective authorities.

It should be recalled that the main objective of the workshop is to enable Member States and development partners to critically consider the report of the study on the development of the ECOWAS regional infrastructural development.

The workshop also availed the participants the opportunity of making their comments on the master plan thereby ensuring that the study adequately reflects the observations of Member States, ECOWAS and other stakeholders.