Morocco plans to allocate 120 million dirhams, about 11 million euros, to research on an underwater tunnel in 2027 aimed at connecting it to Spain, a project that has been in the works for decades and that didn’t break ground until the first stone was laid in recent years. Of course, the money won’t be used for construction, but will fund a new evaluation of whether this 40-year-old idea can actually be built.
Why does it matter? The figure shows that Rabat is maintaining part of a project that has long depended on both countries moving at the same pace. Spain is already financing its own technological upgrades, and any decision to build would require a new bilateral agreement with Morocco, which the Spanish government has already withdrawn in 2023, as Europa Sur Media shared.
Details. According to La Rajon, the allocation is made in the 2027 draft budget document of the Moroccan Ministry of Equipment and Water. It belongs to SNED, the Moroccan state agency in charge of the study, and is part of a joint work program with its Spanish counterpart, Sessegsa. The plan consists of reviewing previous engineering studies, updating the environmental management system, physically exploring underground structures and launching new geostrategic, legal and economic studies.
The plan also includes promotion of the project, as the program still needs approval from the 44th session of the Joint Government Committee, so the expenditure has not yet been finalized.
Budget so far. Morocco’s budget document includes a subsidy of 30 million dirhams for the Ministry of Equipment and Water in 2027 and subsequently 7 million dirhams per year in 2028 and 2029 to be shared by La Razon for field operations and support. The SNED annual subsidy limit has also been raised to Dh15 million. In August this year, the company said it had begun preparing an exploratory study of the tunnel and began seismic and tectonic measurements on both sides of the strait.
What the study should address. The Spanish government acknowledged in 2025 that previous geological campaigns had yielded limited results due to the technology available at the time, as reported by Cádiz Directo. The concept is now one of the project’s most important hurdles, to gradually close that gap through geological research around the Camerinal threshold. 553,187 euros have been specifically reserved for the creation of a three-dimensional geological model of the area under the supervision of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC).
Also participating in this series of studies are ocean bottom seismometers known as OBS, which record seismic activity on the seafloor. Additionally, last October, according to Cádiz Directo, the University of Salamanca was awarded a contract worth 123,607 euros to analyze samples from marine surveys.
Spanish part. As reported from southern Europe, Secegsa has been updating its initial design since 2007 with the help of public engineering company Ineco. A significant change is that the northern terminus is now proposed to be located near Vejer, which means that new rail connections with the Spanish and European networks will have to be studied. Ineco also hired German tunnel specialist Herrenknecht to assess whether the excavation was viable
The road is so far. Both countries agreed to study a permanent link in 1979, and two state-owned companies were created in 1981. After a lull, the work was resumed in April 2023 at the 43rd meeting of the Joint Governmental Committee. Spain has contributed €2.3 million to the European Recovery Fund for its own upgrades, according to Europa Sur. Previous studies have referred to the construction of a railway tunnel under the seabed in front of a bridge.
Cover image SECEGSA
In Xataka | With 55 kilometers under the Alps, Europe is once again building the world’s longest rail tunnel
