The pharaonic project of a fixed link between Morocco and Spain has just reached a decisive milestone. While the technical feasibility has now been validated by German experts, enthusiasm is giving way to anxiety on the northern shore. Andalusia fears becoming the big loser in the story, relegated to the rank of a simple transit corridor for a booming Moroccan economy.
This is a decisive step forward for this long-held dream of engineers. A German study confirms the technical feasibility of a rail link under the Strait of Gibraltar, between Morocco and Spain. While tunnel boring machines can now pierce the rock, the bill is expected to be hefty and the commissioning horizon is distant.
The technical feasibility of the tunnel under the Strait of Gibraltar is entering a critical phase of scientific evaluation. Experts now have an estimated period of three years, potentially renewable, to determine the viability of the project in the face of geological constraints.
The project of a fixed link between Europe and Africa is taking a decisive step. After the validation of the technical feasibility by German experts, the Spanish government has officially launched the detailed design of the future railway tunnel under the Strait of Gibraltar, with the ambition of initiating the work by 2030.
The project of a fixed link between Europe and Africa , considered for more than forty years, continues to mobilize the Spanish and Moroccan authorities. Despite the colossal technical challenges, the two countries maintain their commitment to the construction of a submarine railway tunnel crossing the Strait of Gibraltar, with a commissioning horizon now envisaged around 2040.
Fourteen kilometers separate Spain from Morocco at the narrowest point of the Strait of Gibraltar. Such a short distance has long fueled the dream of a fixed land link between Europe and Africa. However, while a project for an underwater tunnel is under study, no attempt to build a bridge has ever been launched, due to technical and geographical obstacles considered insurmountable.
The project of a tunnel between Spain and Morocco, and by extension between Europe and Africa, could become a reality. The feasibility study commissioned by the Spanish Society for Studies on Fixed Communication through the Strait of Gibraltar (SECEGSA) to the German company Herrenknecht, world leader in the field of tunnel boring machines, has confirmed that the infrastructure, although extremely complex, is technically viable.
The National Company for the Study of the Strait of Gibraltar (SNED) is making progress in the realization of the submarine railway tunnel project connecting Morocco and Spain through the Strait of Gibraltar. In this regard, it intends to acquire advanced seismometers to map the seabed with a highly complex geological structure.
Relaunched in February 2023, the ambitious project of a submarine railway tunnel connecting Morocco and Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar continues to progress, but only in its study phase. While recent contracts with international companies show progress, numerous technical, financial and political challenges make its concrete realization uncertain for many years to come.
The project to build a tunnel connecting Morocco and Spain under the Strait of Gibraltar is progressing. Ultimately, it should help strengthen the movement of people and goods between Europe and Africa.
The project to build a tunnel connecting Morocco and Spain under the Strait of Gibraltar is starting to take shape. It should ultimately facilitate the movement of people and goods between Africa and Europe.
The Spanish Ministry of Transport has mobilized 1.6 million euros for the feasibility study of the tunnel between Spain and Morocco under the Strait of Gibraltar. A budget revised downwards, as 2.4 million euros were initially planned for this study.