French group Bolloré has retained banks to work on an initial public offering for its West African railroad loop project, Reuters agency reported on 27 October, citing sources close to the project.

At least four banks, Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas, Société Générale and Crédit Agricole have been recruited to work on a possible IPO, the same source added.

The IPO should take place in Paris during the first half of 2016 in order to raise capitals to finance the project, which requires from €2 billion to €2.5 billion in investments.

“We have always said that we would review all possibilities to find the best financing. Up until now, we had made progress using our own funds”, Eric Melet, President of Bolloré Africa Railways, a subsidiary of the Bolloré group, declared.

“In all cases, we want to stay in control and we will bring a significant share of the financing, as the group has always proceeded”, he added, indicating however that a project financing structure or continuing to use the company’s own funds are also part of the available options.

Known as Blueline, the West African railroad loop project will cross five countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Niger, Benin and Togo. Started in 2013, this project is meant to reach completion within eight years. As part of this project, the Bolloré group is considering renovating existing rail lines and building new ones, especially for example between Niger and Burkina Faso and between Niger and Benin.

This railroad should also benefit from synergies with the container terminals of the Bolloré group in ports in Côte d’Ivoire, Benin and Togo.