ECOWAS New Headquarters 85% Ready,Vice President Tchintchibidja urges contractor to fast-track remaining work.
By Raymond Enoch
The journey to a new era for West Africa’s premier regional economic institutions is edging closer to reality as the new ECOWAS Commission Headquarters in Abuja Nigeria reached about 85 per cent completion, even as the Vice President of the ECOWAS Commission, Her Excellency Damtien L. Tchintchibidja, has called for an accelerated push to finish the remaining works.
On Tuesday, 11th November 2025, the ECOWAS Vice President led a high-level delegation on a working visit to the construction site of the new complex in Abuja. She was accompanied by technical officials from the Directorates of Transport and Administration & General Services. Representatives of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Nigeria, the principal financier of the project, were also in attendance.
During the visit, project engineers and site managers briefed the Vice President and her team on the current level of progress, the projected completion timeline and outstanding challenges that must be addressed to ensure the complex is fully functional upon handover.
According to the technical briefing, the overall physical progress of the Headquarters project now stands at about 85 per cent. Arrangements are in place to ensure that the remaining 15 per cent of the work is completed as a matter of urgency, paving the way for handover of the iconic structure to the ECOWAS Commission.
However, the project has not been without its hurdles. Excessive rainfall in recent months and some site-related issues have caused significant delays, particularly in the execution of external works. In response, the contractor has reportedly doubled its workforce and intensified activities on site in order to recover lost time and keep the project within the revised completion schedule.
In her remarks, Vice President Tchintchibidja commended the progress recorded so far but stressed that the final phase of the works must be executed with speed and diligence, given the strategic importance of the new Headquarters to regional integration, institutional efficiency and the international image of ECOWAS.
She underscored that the new complex is expected to provide a modern, integrated and secure working environment for the ECOWAS Commission and its staff, strengthening coordination, policy implementation and service delivery for the over 400 million citizens of the Community.
The visit also provided an opportunity for the Commission to acknowledge and applaud the efforts of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in supporting ECOWAS institutions beyond the Headquarters project. The Commission welcomed the progress made by Nigeria in contracting out the construction of the new buildings for the ECOWAS Parliament and the Community Court of Justice.
The ECOWAS Commission, through the Vice President, expressed profound appreciation to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for his sustained political and logistical support to ECOWAS Community Institutions, including direct assistance aimed at strengthening their capacity and infrastructure.
The impending completion of the new ECOWAS Headquarters marks a significant milestone in the institutional development of the Community, signalling a modern home befitting a regional organisation that continues to play a central role in peace, security, economic integration and development across West Africa.
With the physical works now in the final stretch and calls intensifying for all stakeholders to act swiftly, the focus is firmly on ensuring that the remaining 15 per cent of the project — including critical infrastructure linkages — is completed without further delay, so that the new ECOWAS Headquarters can soon open its doors as a symbol of renewed commitment to regional unity and progress.
