Line 1 of the Abidjan metro network
The technical and financial offer submitted by the Abidjan rail transport company (STAR) has been approved. A new stage has been reached in the execution of Line 1 of the Abidjan Metro.
On 21 December 2019, the Ivorian authorities in charge of the project, coordinated by the Minister of Transport, signed addendum number 2 approving the technical and financial offer submitted by the Abidjan rail transport company (STAR - Société des Transports Abidjanais sur Rail). The addendum was signed in the presence of Alassane Ouattara, President of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire and Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic.
This addendum confirms the route of the future Line 1 of the Abidjan metro network. It is 37 kilometres long and follows a natural corridor serving 18 stations from the north (Anyama Centre) to the south (Airport) of the Ivorian capital.
Building this overground metro will require the construction of 24 bridges, 1 viaduct over the lagoon, 34 pedestrian footbridges and 8 underpasses. The chosen trains, Alstom Metropolis (20 trainsets consisting of 5 cars each), are equipped with a next-generation CBTC (Communication Based Train Control) system. This technology facilitates improved train regularity and maximum safety.
The cost of construction work for the metro is 1.36 billion euros.
Carried out by Bouygues Travaux Publics, Colas Rail and Alstom, the construction phase of Line 1 of the Abidjan Metro - which will begin with excavation work - could start at the end of 2020. The effective start date of the works and contract acceptance are subject to the fulfilment of two major suspensive conditions: the Ivorian State making all the land available and the finalisation of financing for the project in conjunction with the French authorities.
Line 1 of the Abidjan Metro, which will be operated and maintained by the Keolis Group, is the most ambitious mass transit project in sub-Saharan Africa. Capable when completed carrying 500,000 passengers per day, this metro will equip the Ivorian capital with a world-class public transport system.
