The Morocco-Spain tunnel, by 2030?

With a view to the 2030 World Cup that they are jointly organizing with Portugal, Morocco and Spain could accelerate the construction of the Gibraltar tunnel. With a length of 42 km, including 27.7 kilometers of underwater tunnel and 11 kilometers of underground tunnel, the tunnel will connect Morocco and Spain, and by extension Africa and Europe. It aims to facilitate the movement of people and the flow of goods between the two continents.

According to the ongoing studies, the maximum depth of this tunnel would be 300 meters and its maximum slope 3%, reports AS. Spanish companies have already expressed interest in this mega-project. "Spain aspires to play an important role. We are a leading country in rail, we are the world’s number one in high-speed connectivity per population and the second in terms of kilometers after China," said Óscar Puente, the Spanish Minister of Transport, recently.

While it is clear that the realization of this project will require heavy investments in the short and long term, the trajectory of the tunnel is nevertheless the real stumbling block to the continuation of the project. The tunnel could be built between "La Punta de Oliveros" in Tarifa and the islet "Punta Cires" in Morocco, or between the Punta Paloma beach in Spain and Malataba near Tangier. This second option would be the most viable.

The tunnel will be built and operated in two phases: the first, with a single railway tunnel in which passenger and freight trains will circulate alternately in both directions in batches of 12 convoys, and the second, with two unidirectional railway tunnels that will be put into service when the need arises.