(Ecofin Agency) - The French National Railways Corporation (SNCF) announced on October 18^th it was about to “re-enter West Africa” as it expects to get two contracts in Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal.

“We currently have strong partnerships with South Africa, East African nations, Morocco, but we are setting back foot in West Africa,” SNCF’s secretary general Stephane Volant told AFP on the sidelines of the second edition of the international forum for sustainable mobility organized by SNCF.

“The big news came through President Macky Sall who said he would like to award the contract for the construction and operation of the regional express train (TER) to a French conglomerate which includes SNCF,” Volant added highlighting that “no document has actually been signed,”

TER is a 51km-long railway which should connect Dakar to its airport in December 2018. Contract for the project will be awarded in the coming years and includes “project management assistance, construction of the line, electrical equipment and signaling, rolling stock, operating contract, as well as the establishment of railway training school,” the secretary general indicated.

The second contract which SNCF hopes to win in West Africa is that for the Abidjan metro which is expected to be operational by 2020. Results for the call to tenders for the project will be disclosed soon, and SNCF’s branch for urban transport, Keolis, is among the finalists.