The Praia-Dakar-Abidjan Multimodal Transport Corridor is a regional programme connecting Cabo Verde by sea to Dakar and extending by road through The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia to Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire. The approved concept also provides for rail, air, digital and other future corridor infrastructure. The eight coastal states are project locations, while Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger and Nigeria are additional beneficiary countries.
The approved PAP II baseline is USD 21 billion for investment, with USD 70 million identified for technical studies and project preparation. ECOWAS reported in September 2025 that preliminary studies for the optimal Dakar-Abidjan route and the Praia-Dakar maritime link had been completed and approved, while additional preparation, financing, treaty ratification and institutional work remained necessary.
The programme is intended to establish an integrated economic and transport corridor from Praia in Cabo Verde to Dakar and onward to Abidjan through the coastal states of western Africa. The road component follows the Dakar-Banjul-Bissau-Conakry-Freetown-Monrovia-Abidjan route, while a maritime service is intended to connect Praia with Dakar and neighbouring mainland ports.
The current ECOWAS alignment work identifies approximately 3,164 km for the highway component and about 600 km for the maritime connection. The project is broader than a highway: the founding corridor treaty allows for rail, maritime and air transport, fibre-optic infrastructure, pipelines and economic-development interventions.
The location countries are Cabo Verde, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire. Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger and Nigeria benefit through links with inland and adjoining regional corridors. ECOWAS and the future corridor authority are responsible for regional coordination.
The PAP II submission estimated USD 21 billion in CAPEX and USD 70 million for technical studies and preparation. AfDB and NEPAD-IPPF support financed initial studies, including identification of the optimal route and socio-economic and financial work on the maritime link.
ECOWAS reported in September 2025 that the preliminary studies for the two initial components had been completed. The ministerial steering committee approved the programme for the next stages, including additional studies, treaty ratification, institutional arrangements and financing. These milestones support S2B but do not establish completion of detailed design for all components, financial close, tendering or corridor-wide construction.
Individual works located along the route, including national roads or specific bridges, should not automatically advance the whole umbrella programme.
The project aims to establish an integrated transport and economic corridor linking Cabo Verde and the coastal states between Dakar and Abidjan. It is intended to improve the free movement of people and goods, reduce transport and logistics costs and connect major ports, cities and border communities.
It also seeks to strengthen regional trade, improve access for landlocked West African countries, support economic activity and employment and create a platform for coordinated road, maritime, rail, digital and utility investment. The corridor is expected to form a strategic section of the wider Trans-African Highway network.