Spain Revives Plans for Underwater Tunnel to Morocco

Spain has indeed just rented four seismometers, recalls Al Ahdath Al Maghribia. These devices, intended for the study of the seabed of the strait, will be made available to the Royal Institute and the Naval Observatory in San Fernando, near Cádiz, for a period of six months. This initiative testifies to the Spanish government’s determination to advance this project, considered one of the greatest challenges of modern engineering.

The relaunch of this ambitious project follows the visit to Morocco last March of the Spanish Minister of Transport, Oscar Puente. The latter had then stressed "the interest of Spanish companies to participate in the construction of this tunnel", highlighting the "profound transformations" it could bring about for trade between Europe and Africa.

A Spanish-Moroccan joint committee is soon to meet to define the outlines and stages of this tunnel’s realization. 42 kilometers long, including 27.7 underwater, it would connect Punta Paloma, in Spain, to Punta Malabata, in Morocco. This route has been chosen to facilitate the work and limit the cost.

The tunnel would consist of three tubes: two for the rail transport of passengers and goods, and a third dedicated to safety and services. According to the Spanish Company for Studies on Fixed Communication through the Strait of Gibraltar (SECEGSA), the tunnel could see the light of day between 2030 and 2040.

It should be recalled that Spain and Morocco had already signed, in 1980, an agreement for the creation of a fixed link between Europe and Africa. This agreement had led to the creation of two national companies: SECEGSA for Spain and the National Company for Studies of the Strait of Gibraltar (SNED) for Morocco.