Morocco-Spain Tunnel Project Gains Momentum Ahead of 2030 World Cup

43 years later, hope is reborn for the project to build a tunnel under the Strait of Gibraltar to connect Morocco and Spain, as well as Africa and Europe. This, thanks to the co-organization by Morocco, Spain and Portugal of the 2030 World Cup. This major project, with an estimated budget of 7 billion euros, could therefore be realized before the holding of the largest football sporting event. Initiated in 1981, the project was struggling to materialize. Two companies: a Moroccan SNED, and the Spanish SECEGSA were tasked with carrying out studies after Hassan II and Juan Carlos I had signed a joint declaration of intent in this direction in 1980. In 2023, this project was relaunched during the 43rd high-level Morocco-Spain meeting. Last summer, Spain confirmed a fund of 2 million euros for a design study.

This project is as important for Spain as it is for Morocco. Not to mention the two continents. With a length of 42 km, including 27.7 km in an underwater tunnel and 11 km in an underground tunnel, the tunnel will facilitate the movement of people and the flow of goods between the two continents. It will also reduce the travel time between Madrid and Casablanca from 12 hours to just five and a half hours. The tunnel will be built between the beach of Punta Paloma in Spain and Malataba near Tangier, in Morocco. The Spanish study company SECEGSA has stated that the tunnel could transport 12.8 million passengers per year and accommodate 13 million tons of goods over the same period, reports The Telegraph.