Marrakech – Bad news has emerged for Spain and Morocco as the ambitious tunnel project linking both continents will miss the 2030 World Cup deadline.
According to Spanish news outlet AS, German company Herrenknecht has confirmed the project remains technically viable long-term but cannot be completed by 2030. The railway tunnel beneath the Strait of Gibraltar represents the first physical connection between Europe and Africa.
The study commissioned by the Spanish Company for Studies on Fixed Communication across the Gibraltar Strait (SECEGSA) and conducted by Herrenknecht, a world leader in tunnel boring machines, concludes that the infrastructure cannot become operational before 2035 or 2040. This timeline eliminates any possibility of service beginning for the 2030 World Cup.
Herrenknecht confirms the tunnel’s technological viability while warning about geological complexity in the Strait, particularly at the Camarinal threshold. These conditions require longer exploration and drilling phases than initially anticipated.
The delay carries implications beyond engineering concerns. Spain, Morocco, and the European Union consider this infrastructure strategically valuable for transforming continental freight flows and strengthening European positioning in a corridor where global powers converge.
The fixed connection would integrate Morocco into the European railway network, create a continuous logistics corridor between Madrid, Rabat, and Casablanca, and reinforce the Mediterranean’s two shores’ role as strategic gateways between the continents
These advantages will not materialize in the short term. Morocco, meanwhile, is accelerating railway modernization and deepening alliances with the United States, France, and Israel. The Iberian platform describes this trajectory in implicit alarmist terms, exposing deep-seated fears in Madrid over Rabat’s rising strategic weight and the erosion of Spain’s traditional leverage.
Read also: Spain Tasks Ineco with Designing First Morocco Tunnel After Viability Study
The Strait of Gibraltar remains one of the world’s most sensitive maritime passages, named after Ṭāriq ibn Ziyād, the Amazigh commander whose 711 crossing from North Africa into Europe permanently inscribed the strait into geopolitical history.
If realized, the infrastructure would have significantly enhanced strategic connectivity and deepened security cooperation, including submarine monitoring, maritime domain awareness, and the protection of critical cross-border infrastructure.
The confirmed delay compels Spain and the EU to sustain a security architecture centered on naval and air dominance in the Strait, intensified surveillance against hybrid and cyber threats, and close coordination with NATO allies – with Morocco remaining a pivotal partner in regional stability and deterrence.
Herrenknecht’s report stresses that geological rather than technological obstacles present the main challenge. Flysch formations, seabed instability, and route depth require preliminary exploratory tunnels, advanced seismic studies, and specially adapted tunnel boring machines.
The Spanish project side already exceeds €8.5 billion, with costs potentially increasing as studies advance and technical solutions develop. Financing depends on European funds, state contributions, and possible logistics and telecommunications service revenues.
