Paris (AFP)
The Ivorian authorities have approved the technical and financial offer submitted by a consortium of the French groups Bouygues Travaux Publics, Alstom, Colas Rail and Keolis for the construction of the first line of the Abidjan metro, the companies said on Monday.
An amendment was signed on Saturday during the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Abidjan. "The cost of construction of the metro is 1.36 billion euros," said in a statement the Abidjan Rail Transport Company (Star), which brings together the four companies.
Bouygues Travaux Publics will be responsible for project management and civil engineering, Colas Rail (Bouygues group) for tracks and power supply, and Alstom for rolling stock, telecommunications signaling and depot equipment.
Keolis (SNCF group) will be in charge of operation and maintenance and will ensure the operational review of the system during the construction phase, according to the press release.
This line must cross the Ivorian metropolis from north to south for 37 km, to the airport, essentially along an existing rail corridor.
If the works were officially launched by the Ivorian presidents Alassane Ouattara and French Emmanuel Macron in November 2017, the bulk of the work should start at the end of 2020.
However, "the effective start date of the works and the taking over of the contract are conditioned by the lifting of two major suspensive conditions: the provision by the Ivorian State of all the land and the financing of the project in liaison with the French authorities, "noted the Star in its press release.
The construction cost of the project "will be covered by French funding with a mix of Treasury loans and private funding guaranteed by the French state," the French Ministry of the Economy told AFP, noting that " a first tranche of the Treasury loan was concluded during Mr. Macron's visit "to Abidjan.
"The commissioning of the entire line could take place in 2026", according to the press kit published in Abidjan.
© 2019 AFP