China and the Making of the Lagos–Cotonou–Lomé–Accra– Abidjan Corridor: Infrastructure Investment, Institutional Dynamics, and Geopolitical Competition

Abstract

This paper examines China’s role in the development of the Lagos–Cotonou–Lomé–Accra–Abidjan corridor, a 1,028 km coastal transport and economic axis linking Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire. Grounded in debates on infrastructure diplomacy, regional integration, and great power competition, the study argues that China has become a central actor in shaping the corridor’s material and institutional architecture, even as it competes with the EU, ECOWAS, and traditional donors for influence in West Africa. Drawing on a mixed-methods approach, the paper analyzes Chinese engagement across infrastructure investment, institutional interaction, and geopolitical competition. It finds that while Chinese financing and construction capacity have accelerated corridor development, outcomes are mediated by domestic politics, debt sustainability pressures, and limited regional harmonization. The study concludes that the Lagos–Abidjan corridor exemplifies how infrastructure has become a central arena where development objectives, institutional fragmentation, and geopolitical rivalry intersect in contemporary Africa. It contributes to scholarship by linking corridor development to broader questions of regional integration and external power competition.