Spain’s Secegsa has hired Herrenknecht Iberica, a regional branch of Herrenknecht AG, a prominent German firm specializing in tunneling technology and tunnel boring machine production, to carry out a feasibility study for constructing an undersea railway tunnel linking Spain and Morocco, Arabian Gulf Business Insight (AGBI) reports.

If constructed, the tunnel would rank globally among the longest of its kind, making transporting goods and people between Africa and the European Union faster and cheaper, added the same source.

“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,” said a Herrenknecht spokeswoman in a statement to London-based ABGI.

The spokeswoman stated that, at the same time, the construction project presents extreme challenges in terms of technology and logistics.

She also explained that the feasibility study that has now been commissioned specifically addresses this, asking whether these challenges can be overcome and what solutions would be needed.

SECEGSA, the Spanish entity overseeing the Morocco tunnel project, has already invested around €500,000 in seismic monitoring equipment.

This move aims to assess earthquake risks in the Strait of Gibraltar region, where the future tunnel between Europe and Africa is planned.

SECEGSA secured on November 6, 2024, a deal to lease four high-performance seabed seismometers, capable of operating at depths up to 6,000 meters for six to 24 months, with the company having the option to purchase the equipment.