(Ecofin Agency) - The Franco-Korean consortium Bouygues-Dongsan Engineering and the Ivorian government have signed, on 6^th July 2015, an agreement for the construction of an urban train in Abidjan with an investment of FCfa852 billion (€1.3 billion).

This train, which will link the Ivorian economic capital Abidjan to its airport, will transport “around 300,000 people on a daily basis” on a line of 37.5 km.

 “This will help in solving the traffic problem in Abidjan, which generate substantial losses for the Ivorian economy”, declared the Minister of Transport Gaoussou Touré.

Construction is scheduled to begin in 2017. The start of the first phase should occur in 2019 with full operation in October 2020

The Ivorian government had already worked out, in April 2014, a framework-agreement with the Bouygues-Dongsan Engineering consortium for the construction of this metro train in Abidjan. There was no call for tenders prior to the allocation of this project.

Driving force of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), Côte d’Ivoire has recorded since the end of the post-electoral crisis of 2010-2011 a very high growth rate (+9.8% in 2012, +8.7% in 2013, and between 8 and 10% expected for 2014, thanks in particular to investments made in the infrastructure sector.