The seven studies underwent a competitive bidding process in 2013/2014 leading to the selection of international firms specialized in the transport, energy, ICT and water resource sectors.

The Lome sessions, will among others, review the studies’ Terms of Reference, methodology, deliverables, timeframe for the implementation of the projects and milestones, as well as data collection, organization of validation workshops and the communication channel.

The validation workshops will later be held in Member States with input from country experts and regional institutions involved in the implementation of regional infrastructure programmes.

Data collection missions will also be undertaken to Member States and regional institutions with a view to obtaining reliable and up-to-date statistics and the by-in of Member States in the process.

The studies will serve as a basis for selection of the projects, taking into account their viability, impact (social, regional integration, economic, gender, etc), level of preparation, political commitment, and funding gap, among other criteria.

The PPDU is a specialized ECOWAS agency for the development of regional infrastructure projects, resource mobilization and fund management, creation of an attractive environment for private investments and capacity building of national structures responsible for the implementation of infrastructure projects.

With headquarters in Lome, the agency, funded by the ECOWAS Commission and development partners, is governed by a nine-member Steering Committee drawn from the Commission, the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), Member States, financial and technical partners and the private sector.