The old yearning for Unite Europe and Africa through an underwater tunnel Under the Strait of Gibraltar has gone back. Spain and Morocco have reactivated a project that, despite having been more than three decades in Limbo, was never completely abandoned.
Thanks to a New political impulse, technological advances and financial support increasingly solid, the tunnel between Algeciras and Tangier begins to emerge as a real possibility for the next decades.
Connection reactivation under the sea between Morocco and Spain
He submarine tunnel was conceived decades agobut the economic, technical and geopolitical difficulties kept him filed. However, the situation began to change in April 2023, when the then Minister of Transportation, Raquel Sánchez, met with her Moroccan counterpart to formally reactivate the project after 14 years of inactivity.
Since then, the political will has been accompanied by a significant increase in public investment.
Dryegsathe public company in charge of the viability study, went from receiving just 100,000 euros in 2022 to have 2.7 million euros in 2024in addition to another additional 2 million from the recovery and resilience mechanism of the European Union.
This economic injection marks a turning point, giving rise to key technical hiring and the completion of specialized studies.
A 60 -kilometer rail tunnel
Although in the beginning the construction of two tunnels (one for rail traffic and one for vehicles) was raised, a more pragmatic solution has finally chosen: a exclusively rail tunnelfocused on transporting passengers and merchandise.
In 2007, two potential routes for infrastructure were identified:
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The Canyon Routeonly 14 kilometers but 800 meters deep.
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The threshold routelonger (28 km under the sea) but less deep (300 meters).
After technical evaluations, the threshold routefor its slightest geological complexity. This route would lead to a total tunnel of 60 kilometers longincluding sections on land, which would make it one of the world’s longest underwater tunnelseven surpassing the famous Eurotunnel between the United Kingdom and France (50.5 km).
Two key studies underway
In 2024, the Spanish government has signed two essential contracts to advance in the technical viability phase:
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Geotechnical study of camarinal threshold perforation:
The company Iberian Herrenknecht It has been hired to analyze how this underwater elevation that connects the Atlantic with the Mediterranean could be excavated safely and efficiently. This study will be extended until July 2025 and will mark a fundamental guideline for project engineering.
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Study of seismic activity in the Strait:
Drysa rented seismometers to the company Tekpam Engineering to evaluate the seismic stability of the area. Although the work was interrupted for security reasons by the Royal Institute and Observatory of the Navy, it is planned to resume in better weather conditions and end in September 2025.
Technical, political and economic challenges
The tunnel between Spain and Morocco is a high complexity project. The seismic activity in the region, the strong marine currents of the Strait and the need for coordination between two countries with different laws are factors that increase the difficulty of entrepreneurship. To this is added the lack of total electrification of the rail network in northern Morocco, something that must also be addressed.
Also, although an official cost has not been publishedit is estimated that the work could overcome the 15,000 million eurosa figure that requires shared financing between Spain, Morocco and the European Union.
Estimated date of the opening of the tunnel between Morocco and Spain
In the best of the scenarios, the authorities estimate that the tunnel could not be operational before 2040. In a first phase it would be built A single gallerywhere trains would circulate in both directions, and in a second phase a Second Gallery To separate traffic.
Despite the long wait, the strategic, economic and social benefits of this infrastructure are undeniable:
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I would create a New intercontinental connection axis.
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Would speed up the transport of goods Between Africa and Europe.
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Would drive the Tourism and international cooperation.
A step towards global integration
The reactivation of the underwater tunnel project between Spain and Morocco represents much more than an engineering work. It is a symbol of cooperation between continents, a commitment to connectivity and a reflection of the political will to look beyond borders.
Although the challenges are enormous, the new impulse given by both governments and European support brings him closer to a horizon that, for the first time in decades, seems attainable.