An international consortium, including the Korean train maker Hyundai Rotem, has recently been named the sole preferred bidder for building a 1 billion euro ($1.4 billion) railway in Abidjan, the capital city of Ivory Coast, company officials confirmed Wednesday.

On Friday, the Ivorian transport ministry signed an initial agreement for the railway project together with the consortium, also including France’s Bouygues and Korea’s Dongsan Engineering.

“We have more things to discuss, including shareholding, until the final deal is reached,” said a Hyundai Rotem spokesperson, declining to give a specific timetable.

According to news reports, the project would involve construction of a 37-kilometer rail line from Abidjan’s international airport in the south of the city, through the city center to its northern suburbs.

The planned railway, whose construction is to start in 2017 and finish by 2020, would transport about 300,000 passengers a day, alleviating the traffic jams that currently plague the city of around 5 million people, the government said in a statement.

Hyundai Rotem, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, will supply trains and other traffic signal systems, while Bouygues and Dongsan Engineering will be responsible for engineering work and electricity infrastructure, respectively.

The consortium reportedly plans to secure a stake of at least 40 percent in the project.

Rotem, which is seeking to expand its presence in India, Turkey, Latin America and Africa, is currently the 10th-largest player in the world. The company aims to join the global top five by 2020 by doubling its current 2.5 percent market share to 5 percent.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)