Mega-Tunnel to Bridge Continents: Spain and Morocco’s 60km Gibraltar Link Set to Revolutionize Euro-African Trade

Spain and Morocco reactivated this project in April 2023. While it was initially planned to build two tunnels (one for rail traffic and the other for vehicles), the option of a solely rail tunnel dedicated to passenger and freight transport has ultimately been chosen. After several technical studies, the Seuil route was selected due to its low geological complexity. Thus, the underwater tunnel should have a total length of 60 kilometers, making it one of the longest in the world, exceeding the Eurotunnel between the United Kingdom and France (50.5 km).

In 2024, the Spanish government, through SECEGSA, in charge of the studies for this project, launched two feasibility studies for the tunnel under the strait: a geotechnical study of the drilling of the Camarinal sill, entrusted to the company Herrenknecht Ibérica, and whose report is expected by the end of July 2025, and a study of seismic activity in the strait, which should be completed in September 2025. The cost of the project is estimated at more than 15 billion euros, according to La Razon, specifying that this amount should be mobilized by Morocco, Spain and the European Union. According to projections, the tunnel could not be operational before 2040.

In a first phase, a single gallery would be built, where trains would run in both directions, and in a second phase, a second gallery would be added to separate the traffic. Ultimately, the tunnel under the strait would accelerate the transport of goods between Africa and Europe and stimulate tourism and international cooperation.