A high-speed railway service could run under the Strait of Gibraltar, which is a key shipping route for the transportation route for goods, in a tunnel linking Europe and Africa
A vast £6bn tunnel connecting Spain to Africa has had its completion date finally revealed.
Studies are being conducted into the feasiblity of an underwater railway crossing linking Europe and Africa. And deadline for the completion of the project will be 2030 according to reports.
The £6billion tunnel will allow a high-speed railway service to run under one of the most famous cargo routes in the world, The Strait of Gibraltar, which is well known as a key transportation route for goods. The Moroccan National Company for Strait Studies is reportedly trying to source funding for the project.
It is estimated to span 28km with its lowest point 475m below sea level. The underwater crossing is tipped to connect Punta Paloma in southern Spain and Malabata, near Tangier, Morocco. Both nations want the tunnel built in time for the 2030 football World Cup which is expected to be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. The football competition would be the first to be held in three countries and would cover two continents with Africa holding its first competition since 2010.
“The Spanish Society for Fixed Communication Studies across the Strait of Gibraltar (SECEGSA) has stated it believes the tunnel could facilitate travel for 12.8M passengers annually,” New Civil Engineer reports. Plans for the ‘Europe-Africa Gibraltar Strait fixed link’ were mut on hold in 2009, They were later reintroduced in April last year when a joint commission for the project met again after 14 years. Proposals to connect the two continents go back to 1930s when it was first proposed by Spain. Then engineers were brought in to study the crossing’s geology.
But a major problem happened when it was discovered the rock under the Strait extremely hard which would make tunneling “impossible” with that era’s technology. It resulted in a proposal of a pre-fabricated concrete tunnel to be attached to the strait’s seabed with cables.
Oscar Puente, Spain’s Transport Minister, raised hopes of the Fixed Link Project becoming a reality last month ahead of an announcement in May. The tunnel was first discussed 40 years ago and is seen as a strategic key for both Spain and Morocco, as well as Europe and Africa.
Mr Puente’s predecessor, Raquel Sanchez, had already sparked interest in the project in February 2023. She said to the Moroccan government the Spanish construction sector was keen to help develop infrastructure in Morocco.
At the time, she stated: “We are going to give impetus to the studies of the Fixed Link Project for the Strait of Gibraltar, which was initiated by both countries forty years ago. A strategic project for Spain and Morocco, and also for Europe and Africa.”
In July, it was confirmed in the Spanish government gazette that £1.96million (2.3m) of European funds would be given to the Spanish Society for Fixed Communication across the Strait of Gibraltar (SECEGSA). This money will be used to update the studies related to the project.
If completed, the tunnel could make taking holidays in Morocco easier and much greener for those on Continental Europe, as it would take away the need for an emissions heavy flight or a long, typically expensive boat ride.
