The rail tunnel to link Spain and Morocco via the Strait of Gibraltar will not see the light of day. Instead, a connection for fiber and telecommunications will be established, according to official Spanish sources.
The Spanish Minister of Transport, Mobility, and the Urban Agenda, Raquel Sánchez, declared during the Morocco-Spain summit held on February 1 and 2 in Rabat, that the two countries were going to “accelerate the studies of the fixed link of the Strait of Gibraltar which was launched forty years ago. A strategic project for Spain and Morocco, but also for Europe and Africa”.
After this announcement, the two countries were expected to proceed with the launch of the tunnel construction works. But it is nothing. “For now, there is a mutual commitment to promote studies of a tunnel focused on its use for fiber and telecommunications”, indicate sources from the Spanish Ministry of Transport who stress that no reflection is in progress. course for the construction of a tunnel dedicated to rail transport between the two countries.
For this new tunnel project which will be used for fiber and telecommunications, the two countries have not yet adopted an implementation plan. The same sources from the Spanish Ministry of Transport assure that the Morocco-Spain joint committee will probably meet this month to establish a work schedule in order to move quickly in the implementation of the project.
However, the two countries have shown in recent months a renewed interest in resuming the project in its initial version. In November, the Moroccan government council appointed AbdelKébir Zahoud, director general of the National Society for the Study of the Strait of Gibraltar, under the Ministry of Equipment and Water. For its part, Spain has provided a line of 750,000 euros in its 2023 budget to launch new feasibility studies for the project.
