A rail tunnel connecting Spain with Morocco under the Strait of Gibraltar, first proposed over forty years ago, is back on the table after discussions between the two countries a little over a week ago.
The project, modeled on the Channel Tunnel, was first proposed in 1979 by King Hassan II and King Juan Carlos, and preliminary feasibility and engineering studies were started by the two countries’ rail operators, as well as test drilling. The selected route would run from Tarifa, Spain to Malabata, east of Tangier.
However, budget cuts after the 2008 fiscal crisis and an extended period of frosty relations between the two countries put the project into long-term hold. With better relations and improved economy, the two are interested again.
The tunnel is seen as a way to avoid congestion in the Strait, which currently sees 100,000 ships passing through each year, and could handle 13 million tonnes of goods as well as 12.8 million passengers. Spain is Morocco’s biggest economic partner.
As well as financing, there are engineering issues: Unlike the relatively stable limestone through which the Channel Tunnel passes, the Strait of Gibraltar lies on a fault zone between the Eurasian and African tectonic plates, and has an area where the ocean floor is unstable clay. That will likely make for a high construction cost if the project goes ahead.
