Morocco-Spain Underwater Tunnel Faces Decade-Long Delay

Initially scheduled to be completed in 2030, in anticipation of the 2030 World Cup, the Morocco-Spain tunnel could finally only see the light of day in 2040 due to its technical complexity. Despite the efforts of the Spanish and Moroccan authorities, through the Spanish Company in charge of the fixed link studies of the Strait (SECEGSA) and the National Company for Strait Studies (SNED), this deadline cannot be met.

SECEGSA, in coordination with its Moroccan counterpart, are working to carry out seismic studies as part of this project. "To better understand the seismic constraints, Secegsa signed a contract of around 500,000 euros at the end of 2024 to rent specific equipment to study seismic activity at the bottom of the strait. Although this contract was canceled for safety reasons raised by the Spanish Royal Maritime Institute, the studies will ultimately be supervised by the Spanish navy between April and September 2025, the optimal period for maritime work," reports the Spanish press.

At the same time, the technical feasibility study of the tunnel under the strait has been entrusted for the past two months to the Spanish subsidiary of the German Herrenknecht. The company is focusing its efforts on the excavation of the "Camarinal ridge", considered one of the most complex sections of the project (30 kilometers long and more than 100 meters deep).

To recall, the tunnel under the strait should connect Punta Paloma in Spain and Punta Malabata in Tangier, and by extension Europe and Africa. Herrenknecht Iberica, which has carried out the M-30 tunnels in Madrid or the one under the Bosphorus, is convinced that the Morocco-Spain tunnel will help strengthen passenger and freight transport between Europe and Africa, and boost trade and investment between the two continents.