German tunnel specialist, Herrenknecht will study the feasibility of building a high-speed rail tunnel between Morocco and Spain, Arabian Gulf Business Insight (AGBI) reports.
Spain and Morocco have been considering the project since 1979, but the 2030 World Cup has revived interest.
The idea is promoted by Morocco’s National Company for the Studies of the Strait of Gibraltar and its Spanish counterpart, the Society for Studies of a Fixed Communication across the Strait of Gibraltar, or Secegsa.
The proposed tunnel would stretch 38km, and would cost in the region of $6bn.
The general configuration would be based on the Channel Tunnel, with two single-track tunnels and with the capacity to transport cars and trucks.
It would cut the journey time between Casablanca and Madrid to five-and-a-half hours and create the first direct link between Africa and Europe. At present it takes 12 hours to make that journey.
A spokesperson for Herrenknecht told AGBI: “The Strait of Gibraltar is a bottleneck for traffic between North Africa and Europe – a tunnel would significantly increase the efficiency of freight and passenger transport.
“At the same time, this construction project poses extreme challenges in terms of technology and logistics. The feasibility study that has now been commissioned relates precisely to this: can these challenges be overcome and what solutions would be necessary?”
