Spain and Morocco are once again discussing the construction of a tunnel between the two countries, which would pass under the Strait of Gibraltar. A project discussed since the end of the 1970s…
It should not see the light of day before 2050. But the tunnel project between Spain and Morocco is still relevant. Even in the midst of a quarrel, Madrid and Rabat had continued their discussions about the Gibraltar tunnel, a project that dates back several decades but which, after 2009, had remained on hold. until mid 2021. Then in the cold, Spanish and Moroccan governments had participated in a virtual meeting to discuss the mega-project.
After being pronounced in favor of the Moroccan peace plan for Western Sahara, Spain has once again been in favor with Morocco. At the beginning of February, a high-level bilateral meeting took place in Rabat, during which the two governments again discussed the construction of the Gibraltar tunnel. Something to revive, as always, the hope that the project will finally see the light of day in the next three decades.
As with the Channel Tunnel, the one that would cross the Strait of Gibraltar would certainly be symbolic, linking two territories separated by a sea. Spain and Morocco would in fact allow the transit of 13 million tonnes of goods and 12 million passengers.
It was in 1979 that the idea of the tunnel between the two countries was born. Kings Hassan II and Juan Carlos I hoped to revolutionize trade between the two countries. But at the time, it was difficult to imagine how to build such a building which plunged 475 meters below sea level. At the end of the 1990s, a committee of experts had drawn up the main lines of the project, with the construction three tunnels from Malabata, in the Bay of Tangier, to Punta Paloma, in the Tarifa region.
A 38,5 kilometer long structure, 28 of which would be dug under the sea. Currently, several hundred thousand euros have been spent to carry out studies. But the Spanish Ministry of Transport wants to believe in it and give "a boost to the studies" of feasibility to see the tunnel one day emerge from the ground. It now remains to be seen whether the objective of constructing the building by 2050 is tenable or not. Studies will answer this question in the coming months…