West African organisers have selected 26 infrastructure projects worth more than $10 billion from 170 submissions for presentation to potential investors at a regional summit in Sierra Leone in November.
Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella, special envoy for the West Africa Integration and Investment Summit (WAIIS), said the selected projects came from more than 10 countries. The organisers expect their combined value to reach $15 billion or more before the summit.
The projects cover energy, trade, industrialisation, strategic minerals, agriculture and digital infrastructure. Organisers are preparing the portfolio for presentation to potential financiers, including United Bank for Africa (UBA), Afreximbank, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and Africa50.
Organisers narrow 170 proposals to 26 projects
Yumkella disclosed the selection figures as preparations continued for the summit, which is expected to bring together governments, investors and development finance institutions to support strategic regional projects.
“We received 170 project submissions and have selected 26 real projects worth more than $10 billion from over ten countries,” Yumkella said in a statement issued by the summit organisers.
“We expect that portfolio to reach $15 billion or more,” he added.
The selected projects have a combined value exceeding $10 billion, although the organisers have not provided individual valuations for the 26 proposals in the available information.
READ RELATED NEWS
Investors get discount as Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund opens N45bn sale
Nigeria ties investor confidence to legal certainty
IMF raises Sub-saharan Africa growth forecast to 4.5% despite economic risks
ECOWAS slashes air taxes to end west Africa’s sky-high ticket prices
Nigerian businessman Tony Elumelu, chairman of Heirs Holdings and co-chair of the summit, is backing the proposed investment pipeline. He disclosed the initiative in an email response to questions from Bloomberg, which reported the development on Thursday, October 15, 2026.
The pipeline is intended to identify viable projects across several West African countries and present them to financiers capable of considering their funding needs.
Sierra Leone’s President, Julius Maada Bio, initiated and convened the summit. The meeting is expected to bring project developers, governments and financial institutions together in November.
Gas pipeline among region’s major infrastructure plans
The investment initiative comes as West African countries pursue large cross-border infrastructure projects, including the proposed $25 billion Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline, also known as the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline.
The project is designed to transport natural gas from Nigeria through several West African countries to Morocco, with connections to European energy markets.
In June 2022, Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council approved the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) to negotiate an agreement with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to advance the pipeline.
Nigeria, Morocco and ECOWAS formalised cooperation through a memorandum of understanding in December 2022. NNPC later signed additional agreements involving The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Ghana.
In April 2026, Nigeria and Morocco were preparing to conclude an intergovernmental agreement to support plans to transport up to 30 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually.
In July 2026, NewDailyPrime reported that ECOWAS member states signed an intergovernmental agreement in Sierra Leone to establish a framework for managing the pipeline, coordinating regional participation and mobilising investment.
The proposed pipeline is one of the major cross-border infrastructure projects being pursued in the region as countries work to address financing gaps and improve economic integration.
WHAT READERS SHOULD KNOW
Organisers received 170 project submissions and selected 26 for the proposed investment portfolio.
The selected projects come from more than 10 West African countries.
The portfolio is worth more than $10 billion, with organisers expecting it to reach $15 billion or more.
UBA, Afreximbank, AFC and Africa50 are among the institutions identified for presentation of the projects.
The inaugural WAIIS is scheduled to take place in Sierra Leone in November 2026.
For More News Details, Visit www.NewDailyPrime.news.
