In a move to facilitate inter-regional trade, work started in February on two new joint border posts, at Noépé, between Ghana and Togo (10 km north of Lomé), and at Seme-Krake, between Benin and Nigeria. A third post will be built at Melanville, between Benin and Niger, to be followed by four others, with the aim of reducing formalities, shortening transit time and cutting trade costs throughout the West African region. The whole scheme, being sponsored by the European Union, the Economic Community of West African States and the Union économique et monétaire ouest-africaine, is to be funded from a EUR63m (US$82m) grant under the Ninth European Development Fund, part of which will also support the development of railway infrastructure and capacity building. The first three border posts are scheduled for completion by mid-2012. At a ceremony to launch the project at Noépé, the EU's ambassador to Ghana, Claude Maerten, said that the new crossing would cut transit costs by 25%.

In a separate development, Ghana and Togo opened a border post for pedestrians in December at the Lomé-Aflao frontier, to ease congestion at the main crossing. Pedestrians will just require an identity document rather than a passport, although use of the crossing is restricted to citizens of Togo and Ghana. Officials also pledged to reduce the harassment of travellers by border officials.