Doha – The ambitious underwater rail tunnel project connecting Spain and Morocco through the Strait of Gibraltar has been delayed, with completion now projected for 2040, a decade later than initially planned.
The announcement comes as new technical studies and seismic analyses are underway to determine the feasibility of this complex infrastructure project.
Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente has taken the initiative to revive this long-standing project, which has been in discussion for over 45 years.
The tunnel, designed exclusively for rail transport, will connect Punta Paloma in Cadiz, Spain, with Punta Malabata near Tangier, Morocco.
The project involves constructing a 42-kilometer tunnel, with nearly 30 kilometers submerged at depths reaching 475 meters.
Initial plans call for a single gallery accommodating both directions, with a second tunnel planned in a later phase to separate incoming and outgoing traffic.
Two key preliminary studies are currently in progress. Herrenknecht Ibérica, a Spanish subsidiary of the German firm Herrenknecht, was awarded a €296,000 contract in October 2024 to analyze the feasibility of drilling through the ‘Camarinal Sill,’ the elevation separating the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean.
The company, known for its work on Madrid’s M-30 tunnels and the Bosphorus crossing in Turkey, will complete its study by July.
“Herrenknecht Ibérica has not been contracted to supply technology or perform construction work. The contract exclusively concerns a feasibility study,” company representatives told El Confidencial.
A second study involving seismic monitoring was initially contracted to Tekpam Ingenieria but was suspended following security concerns raised by the Royal Institute and Naval Observatory.
Read also: What Makes Bridging the Strait of Gibraltar Between Spain and Morocco So Challenging?
The study is now scheduled to resume between April and September under naval supervision, when weather conditions are more favorable.
The project faces significant technical challenges, particularly due to its location at the boundary between the Eurasian and African tectonic plates along the Azores-Gibraltar fault line.
The complex geology of the strait has been identified by the Spanish Institute of Engineering as one of the primary obstacles.
The financial investment in the project has been substantial. Between 2016 and 2021, SECEGSA (Spanish Society for Fixed Communication Studies across the Strait of Gibraltar) received annual funding of €50,000, totaling over €2 million.
The budget increased to €100,000 in 2022 and €750,000 in 2023. Total investment has reportedly exceeded €50 million, with the complete project estimated to cost more than €15 billion.
While initial plans aimed to complete the tunnel by 2030, coinciding with the FIFA World Cup co-hosted by Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, experts agree this timeline is unrealistic given the project’s complexity and current preliminary stage of studies.
The project is being jointly managed by SECEGSA and its Moroccan counterpart, SNED (National Society for Strait Studies), with both organizations working to establish a reliable rail connection for passengers and freight between Europe and North Africa.
