SOUTH African freight logistics, shipping and financial service company Grindrod has announced plans to sell its locomotive assembly business due to the company’s deteriorating financial performance and an impairment of Rand 675m ($US 50.6m) for its rail businesses.
THE governments of Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso have signed a revised operating concession with Sitarail, part of the Bolloré Group, to include responsibility for the infrastructure of the 1260km railway linking the two countries.
THE government of Ivory Coast has signed a memorandum of understanding with Italian State Railways' (FS) engineering subsidiary Italferr to carry out feasibility studies and a preliminary project report on a 1000km line linking Ivory Coast and Mali.
THE prime minister of Benin, Mr Lionel Zinsou signed a concession agreement with his Nigerien counterpart, Mr Brigi Rafini and Bolloré Group's CEO, Mr Thierry Ballard, in Niamey on August 13.
THE states of Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Niger and Benin have agreed to study a plan to build a new line at least 900km long to connect the existing metre-gauge railways in Burkina Faso and Benin. A roadmap will be drawn up soon to secure funding with a view to starting construction in 2014.