COTE D’IVOIRE has signed an addendum approving the technical and financial offer submitted by the Abidjan rail transport company Société des Transports Abidjanais sur Rail towards the $1.4bn rail project.
The addendum, which was signed in the presence of President Alassane Ouattara, and French President Emmanuel Macron, confirms the route of the future Line 1 of the Abidjan metro network.
Details of the project
The rail line will be 37km long and follows a natural corridor serving 18 stations from the north to the south of the Ivorian capital of Abidjan. Building this overground metro will require the construction of 24 bridges, one viaduct over a lagoon, 34 pedestrian footbridges and eight underpasses.
The project will be carried out by a consortium of French companies including Bouygues Travaux Publics, Colas Rail and Alstom. The construction phase of Line 1 of the Abidjan Metro, which will begin with excavation work, will start at the end of 2020.
The effective start date of the works and contract acceptance are subject to the fulfilment of two conditions: the Ivorian state making all the land available and the finalisation of financing for the project in conjunction with the French authorities. When completed it will be capable of carrying 500,000 passengers per day
Cote d’Ivoire has a total of 660 kilometres of railway, most of them built during the French colonial period. The lines link the port city of Abidjan with Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.