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Spain and Morocco Relaunch the Tunnel Project under the Strait of Gibraltar

In limbo for years, the tunnel project between Spain and Morocco has just been officially put back on track by Madrid and Rabat.

The tunnel project between Morocco and Spain is one of the topics discussed by the two countries, wishing to intensify their partnership, during their bilateral summit on February 2 in Rabat, Morocco.

But the obstacles remain numerous and make its future more than uncertain. Launched in 1979 by King Hassan II of Morocco and his Spanish counterpart Juan Carlos I, this tunnel project under the Mediterranean aims to connect Africa and Europe by train, passing under the Strait of Gibraltar.

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Two state companies, one Moroccan โ€“ Sned โ€“ and the other Spanish โ€“ Secegsa โ€“, headed by a joint committee, have been set up to study its feasibility, which has given rise to numerous drillings, studies, and trials for 40 years.

After considering several solutions, these companies opted in the late 1990s for a tunnel drilled under the sea, like the Channel Tunnel, with entry and exit points in Malabata, in the Bay of Tangier. (Morocco), and Punta Paloma, near Tarifa (Spain).

38.5 kilometer

structure This structure, considered one of the most ambitious in the world, would consist of two railway tunnels and a service and emergency gallery. It would have a length of 38.5 kilometers, 28 of which are under the sea, and a maximum depth of 475 meters.

By linking the rail networks of the two countries, it would function as a “catalyst for the European and African economy”, assures Claudio Olalla, engineer and professor emeritus at the Polytechnic University of Madrid, who worked on this project for a time.

According to Secegsa, this infrastructure would allow the transit of more than 13 million tonnes of goods and 12.8 million passengers per year in the medium term, which “could contribute greatly to the economic development” of the western Mediterranean.

Spain is indeed Morocco’s leading trading partner โ€“ which exports a large part of its agricultural production to the EU. But the Strait of Gibraltar, where 100,000 ships pass each year, is already congested, which constrains the transit of goods between the two countries.

The project had bogged down in recent years, due to budget cuts in Spain after the 2008 financial crisis, and a succession of diplomatic quarrels between Madrid and Rabat.

But these relations have normalized since Madrid agreed last year to support Moroccan positions in the disputed territory of Western Sahara. This led the two countries to relaunch several bilateral subjects. An envelope has thus been released in the Spanish budget in 2023 to finance a new study “necessary” for “launching the construction process”.

Technical obstacles

“We are going to give a boost to the studies” on this “strategic project”, declared the Spanish Minister of Transport, Raquel Sanchez, announcing the resumption of meetings of the committee bringing together Sned and Secegsa.

The main problem is of a technical nature: the Strait of Gibraltar, located at the limit of the European and African tectonic plates, is a complex geological zone, with unstable clay portions and violent sea currents. “The quality of the soil is very poor. Nothing to do with the limestone rock found under the Channel”, underlines Claudio Olalla, for whom “the technical conditions are very unfavorable, much more than for any other tunnel” in the world.

A situation likely to weigh heavily on costs โ€“ never quantified with precision. “Technically, the obstacles are not insurmountable, but the question arises of its economic viability”, adds the researcher.

Added to these problems are political brakes, linked to the cyclical instability of relations between Madrid and Rabat and to potential European reluctance which may fear a call for migratory air โ€“ wrongly, according to the project’s promoters. Enough to make its launch unlikely in the short or medium term

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