Guatemala is in the spotlight of international investors as an alternative to the Panama Canal.
Korean firms Hyundai Corporation and Yoochang have announced they will invest in restoring the Guatemalan railway linking the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
The project also includes linking the city of Tecun Uman, San Marcos, near the border with Mexico, to the port of La Union in El Salvador, said the Guatemalan newspaper Prensa Libre.
Both companies agreed to the purchase of the Railroad Development Corporation (RDC), owner of Guatemala Railways. The latter won the award in 1997 for 50 years to restore the railway system in the country.