The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Thursday announced the completion of frameworks for the establishment of its $75 million Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Facility.

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Speaking at the opening of the 93rd Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers held in Abuja, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Alieu Omar Touray, also revealed that investments aimed at improving the facilities of Storage, milling initiatives and increased mechanization of paddy production will be swallowed up. approximately $19 billion.

Welcoming the progress made so far in the 6,800 kilometer Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project, which was part of the integrated projects for the region, Touray listed other ongoing projects in the Community, including the regulation of roaming, direct flights and water resources. .

“A framework document for the creation of the ECOWAS Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Facility has been finalized by ministers. This is a new blended financing mechanism with an initial amount of $75 million. The aim is to provide grants, loans and guarantees through regular competitive demand-driven calls for proposals, and to provide clean energy solutions for the ECOWAS region.

“This regional integration project aims to build a gas pipeline linking Nigeria to Morocco, supplying ECOWAS member states and Mauritania with a future extension to Europe. It is an infrastructure 6,800 km long, including 5,100 km at sea, with a transport capacity of 30 billion cubic feet of natural gas per year.

“Moreover, progress continued to be recorded with regard to the implementation of the ECOWAS Regulations on roaming on public mobile communications networks in the ECOWAS region. The gradual implementation of these roaming rates is progressing thanks to several bilateral agreements.

“ECOWAS Roaming is now operational in at least six Member States since its adoption in December 2017 by this Council. »
Towards food security, he said that the regional self-sufficiency project in rice production, called “Rice Offensive”, launched by the Commission in 2014 as part of the ECOWAS Agricultural Policy (ECOWAP), has achieved a second cycle with the development of a second regional program. Action plan (2025-2035) to replace the 2020-2025 plan, which expires next year.

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According to him, achieving the planned consumption target by 2035 requires local production of 33 million tonnes of milled rice.
“It will also require a financial investment of $15-19 billion in capital expenditure (CAPEX) to improve storage facilities, milling initiatives and strengthening mechanization of paddy production.”

Regarding the high cost of air transport, which tends to thwart the development of intra-regional air transport, Touray informed that the ministers responsible for air transport met recently to deliberate on a regional strategy for the harmonization of fees, charges and taxes in ECOWAS Member States. .

“The law seeks the cancellation of all taxes deemed inconsistent with ICAO rules and principles as well as a 25 percent reduction in passenger and security fees. This is an important development for improving the business of the regional air transport sector and facilitating the movement of people and goods within the community.

“Moreover, this year, the ECOWAS Commission relaunched its regional cooperation and integration program in the water sector which dates back to 2001. The ministers in charge of water resources met and adopted 14 resolutions relating to the review of the 2008 West African Water Resources Policy; Management of shared water resources in West Africa and development of hydraulic infrastructure.

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Furthermore, Touray denounced a drop in revenues since only 40 percent of the approved levy was received by the Commission at the end of October.

“For six consecutive years, transfers of Community levy funds from Member States have been declining. This year, as of October 30, community institutions have received only 40 percent of approved community levy funds, hampering the implementation of community programs.