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Rabat – Rumors are going around that the governments of the UK and Morocco are considering a tunnel connecting Africa with Europe. Several media outlets have reported that the imagined tunnel is rapidly becoming a possible reality.
Years after the failure of a planned Spanish-Moroccan tunnel project, the idea of establishing a physical connection between the two continents is back on the radar. “London has seriously embarked on studying the project that will link Europe to Africa,” the Arab Weekly reports.
The idea is certainly not new. Spain and Morocco have both made attempts to start construction on a tunnel, but the project was eventually abandoned. Now that the UK is desperately looking for new trade connections to replace its EU perks, the tunnel is again being considered in London and Rabat.
Such a tunnel could “harm” Spain, according to online news source El Español, which first reported about it. Russian outlet Sputnik News called the project a “historic engineering project,” after Spanish online news source El Estrecho Digital speculated that a tunnel could be built between Tarifa and Malabata, connecting Spain with Morocco.
Yet the news about a potential tunnel from Gibraltar to Morocco’s largest port in Tangiers still does not contain any conclusive agreements or plans. The Arab Weekly stated that Boris Johnson’s government is “studying” the project. The publication further added that Johnson “intends” to visit Morocco to discuss the Gibraltar tunnel.
Morocco and the UK signed a new, post-Brexit trade pact in October 2019. Now that the UK has officially separated from the EU, the tunnel project could be a new pillar for British trade with Africa. While the project has its economic merits, much remains unclear about the level of planning involved, or about who would fund the project and what this would mean for British-Moroccan borders.
