فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
Madrid – November 24, 2025
The Spanish government has announced the commissioning of the National Institute of Engineering and Economics in Transport (Ineco) to prepare the detailed design for an undersea tunnel connecting Spain to Morocco beneath the Strait of Gibraltar, in a decisive step that revives a project stalled for decades and is considered one of the greatest engineering challenges in modern history. This commission comes from the Spanish Company for Studies of Fixed Links across the Strait of Gibraltar (Secegsa), under the Ministry of Transport, with a budget of €961,939, funded through European funds, according to Spanish media reports.
This measure represents the first comprehensive update of studies in fifty years, with the final design expected to be delivered by summer 2026, to be subsequently integrated into the main infrastructure as either a primary technical route or as an auxiliary route for safety and logistics purposes. The tasks include redefining the northern route, determining the location of the Spanish station near Vejer de la Frontera, as well as designing the entrances and connection lines to the existing railway between Cádiz and Seville.
The program also includes reviewing geotechnical and hydrogeological maps based on new ground and marine measurements, along with studying seismic activity, pressure levels beneath the strait, and sources of materials suitable for a construction site that could extend for more than a decade. The study also includes updating safety and ventilation systems according to European standards, using digital simulations for fire and emergency scenarios. Overall, the effort is estimated at more than 15,000 working hours, involving multidisciplinary engineering teams.
According to Spanish technical documents, the project envisions a tunnel approximately 42 kilometers long, including 28 kilometers under the sea between the Cádiz coast and the Malabata area in Tangier, passing through the deepest point called the “Camarinal Sill” which reaches 475 meters. The tunnel will include two tracks for high-speed trains and freight, in addition to a central corridor for maintenance and rescue.
Initial Exploratory Tunnel and Potential Timeline The first phase begins with drilling an exploratory tunnel from the Spanish side, a crucial step to determine the nature of rocks and sedimentary layers, which could take between six and nine years before starting the main drilling. Tenders for this trial tunnel are expected to be issued in 2027, with the possibility of starting initial works around 2030, provided the final political decision is made at that time.
Financially, the Spanish contribution is estimated at €8.5 billion, with Madrid seeking additional funding through the European Union’s “Next Generation EU” program. As for Morocco, it is updating its own studies related to its maritime coast and railway connections, within its strategic vision to strengthen its role as a gateway to Africa.
Joint Political Decision Expected Before End of 2027 Although the project is still in its initial phase, its return to the bilateral agenda is considered a sign of renewed political interest in this ambitious engineering project, which is often compared to the Channel Tunnel but faces more complex geological conditions. A joint political decision is expected before the end of 2027, which could transform this infrastructure into a permanent game-changer in exchanges between Europe and Africa, ease pressure on traditional maritime routes, and enhance Morocco’s strategic role as a growing logistics hub.
Current Technologies Make Project Feasible In a related context, the German company Herrenknecht, a global leader in tunnel drilling, confirmed in its report recently completed at the Spanish government’s request that the project is feasible using currently available technologies, despite its geological complexities. The report focused on the most complex parts of the route, especially the “Camarinal Sill” area, which had been the main obstacle until now. The report has been conducting in-depth internal analyses since last June, in preparation for issuing tenders after June 2026, the date of the final update to the preliminary project dating back to 2007.
It should be noted that the idea of connecting the two continents across the Strait of Gibraltar dates back more than half a century, with the first assessments launched in the 1970s, and recent years have seen a strong push following high-level bilateral meetings in 2023, strengthening cooperation between Madrid and Rabat in this strategic field.
