The project to build the tunnel under the Strait of Gibraltar, linking Morocco to Spain, is back on track. After years of waiting, preliminary studies have been launched, offering a promising prospect for facilitating trade between Europe and Africa.
The project to build a tunnel linking Morocco to Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar, of exceptional scale, finally seems to be relaunched with force. This initiative, which had remained on hold for a long time, gained momentum following a call for tenders issued by the Spanish government for the rental of four seismometers. These devices, the rental of which represents an investment of 488,000 euros, are intended to study the seabed of the strait, an essential step for the feasibility of the project. Indeed, the stakes are of capital importance, because this tunnel would not only be a technical feat of global dimension, but also a strategic lever for relations between Europe and Africa.
Although this project is one of the most ambitious and complex in modern engineering history, the governments of Morocco and Spain are determined to see it through to completion. The authorities of the two countries have confirmed their common desire to carry out this pharaonic project, which, if it sees the light of day, would mark a major advance in transport infrastructure between the two continents. The tunnel, which could well be a game-changer in terms of mobility and commerce, is today in an advanced phase of preparation, with the implementation of geological and experimental studies for the success of the project.
Read also: Morocco-Spain Tunnel: Spain will invest nearly 500,000 euros in seismometers
The Spanish government has therefore decided to rent the four seismometers necessary to thoroughly examine the seabed of the Strait of Gibraltar. The Spanish Society for Studies for Fixed Communication across the Strait of Gibraltar (SECEGSA), responsible for this research, specified that this equipment is essential for carrying out seismotectonic investigations in this particularly geologically sensitive area. According to media reports, this work will be carried out over the next six months, once the instruments are delivered to the Royal Institute and Marine Observatory in San Fernando, near Cádiz, where the analyzes will be carried out.
The project, which dates back several decades, also benefited from a new lease of life thanks to the visit last March of Oscar Puente, Spanish Minister of Transport, to Morocco. This trip made it possible to strengthen cooperation between the two nations and to revive the commitment on both sides to make this tunnel a reality, long put aside for various reasons. During this meeting, the Spanish minister underlined the strategic importance of this project for Spanish companies, who see it as a unique opportunity to participate in the construction of an infrastructure capable of profoundly transforming commercial exchanges and the circulation of goods between Europe and Africa.
As a reminder, the project, as envisaged, consists of a 42 kilometer long tunnel, of which nearly 28 kilometers would be underwater, connecting Punta Paloma, in Spain, to Punta Malabata, in Morocco. This route was chosen for its simplicity, which would reduce both the costs and the complexity of the work. The tunnel would be made up of three tubes: two intended for rail transport of passengers and goods, and a third reserved for services and security.
SECEGSA estimated that the tunnel could be operational in the period between the 2030s and 2040s, if the various stages of design and construction are completed on schedule. This project is reminiscent of the first agreements signed between Morocco and Spain in 1980, aimed at establishing a fixed link between the two continents. At that time, the two countries had already created national companies to study the feasibility of the project, including SECEGSA for Spain and SNED (National Society for the Study of the Strait of Gibraltar) for Morocco.
