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 There is no gain saying that reducing the costs of transport will make West Africa more competitive in world markets.
A recent World Bank study found that a 10 percent reduction in the cost of transportation in the continent would lead to a 25 percent increase in trade as high transportation cost is one of the key barriers to trade in Africa.
Analysts believe that to eliminate some of these problems, there is a need for governments in the region to improve on their transportation networks and monitor the activities of agents on the roads.
In pursuit of this vision the Enugu-Bamenda multinational Highway and Transport facilitation programme was yesterday flagged off at the Nigerian - Cameroon Joint Border Post, Mfum along Ikom - Cameroon Border Road.
According to a press statement by made available to Daily Champion by the chief Press Secretary, Road sector Development Team Mrs. Ngozi Mojike, the project was jointly launched by Nigeria's Minister of works Senator Mohammed Sanusi Daggash and his Camerooman counterpart Mr. Bernard Messengue Avom, with the Governor of Cross River State, Senator Liyel Imoke and President of African Development Bank in attendance.
Co-financed by African Development Bank, the World Bank and the Japanese International co-operation Agency, the projects are targeted at increasing trade and strengthening co-operation between Cameroon and Nigeria.
Among the projects are the 443km long Bamenda - Enugu road Corridor which comprises the Bamenda-Mamfe-Ekok road sections in Cameroon and the Mfum-Ikom-Mbok (Ogoja Junction-Abakaliki-Enugu Road sections in Nigeria.)
Industry watchers have surmised that for West African countries to fully participate in the global economy, they must overcome the various trade obstacles within the region and with the rest of the world.
Recent findings by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) West Africa Trade Hub and Union Economique et Monetaire Ouest Africaine (UEMOA) show that the region has infrastructure problems especially in the transportation sector.
Joe Lamport, the Communications Officer of the West Africa Trade Hub, said that the cost of road transport in West Africa rank among the highest in the world, making imports more expensive and finished goods less competitive in the global market.
The Hub was established in 2005 as a regional tool to reduce bribes and delays on West African trucking routes.
A quarterly report by the Hub in collaboration with ECOWAS and UEMOA in November, showed that West Africa, excluding Nigeria which is not part of the Union, has the most expensive but least efficient road transport in the world.
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