Morocco-Spain Underwater Tunnel Project Aims for 2030 World Cup Completion

Thanks to the co-organization by Morocco, Spain and Portugal of the World Cup, the project of a tunnel under the Strait of Gibraltar connecting Morocco and Spain, but also Africa and Europe, could materialize by 2030. "In a little over five years, there is a good chance that you will be able to board a high-speed train in Madrid and travel from Spain to the Moroccan city of Casablanca in five and a half hours, using a new tunnel under the Strait of Gibraltar," is convinced Everett Potter, contributor to Forbes.

Launched in 1981, the project was struggling to materialize. Two companies: a Moroccan one, the National Company for the Study of the Strait of Gibraltar (SNED), and the Spanish one 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. The SNED has started feasibility studies. SECEGSA did the same last year.

This project is of paramount importance for Spain and Morocco, but also for the European and African continents. With a length of 42 km, including 27.7 kilometers in an underwater tunnel and 11 kilometers 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 time required 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.

"[...] At a time when high-speed rail has become more popular than ever in Europe, this is an inventive, imaginative and exciting project that seems to have a good chance of succeeding," concludes Everett Potter.