Morocco, Spain discuss revival of fixed link project via Gibraltar Strait

The revival of the decades-old project to connect Africa to Europe via the strait of Gibraltar was discussed at a virtual meeting Wednesday between the Moroccan and Spanish Transport Ministers Abdelkader Amara and Jose Luis Abalos.

 

This meeting, held through video-conference as part of the two countries’ mutual interest in further strengthening their bilateral cooperation, was an opportunity to address the issue of revitalizing the project of the fixed link through the Strait of Gibraltar. To this end, they agreed to convene a new joint intergovernmental meeting, the latest one having taken place in Tangier in 2009.

 

Amara stressed that the fixed link project between Morocco and Spain would connect not only two countries, but also two continents. Morocco would serve as a link between Europe and Africa, he said.

 

It is a structuring project for the years to come and a strategic site for both countries, Amara insisted.

 

The two companies in charge of the project are conducting a study to analyze certain technical aspects of the site, he added.

 

The Amara – Abalos meeting, held as part of the preparations for the high-level meeting to be held in Morocco, was an opportunity for both officials to reiterate their shared commitment to strengthen cooperation between the Moroccan and Spanish ports and railways, including the development of the Tangier-Marrakech high-speed line (LGV).

 

The two officials also discussed ways to expand the scope of cooperation in the fields of infrastructure, land and sea transport, and logistics.

 

A draft memorandum of understanding on technical cooperation is being finalized by both parties.

 

In January this year, the Arab Weekly reported that the cabinet of the British premier Boris Johnson would be considering, in collaboration with the Moroccan government, taking up the fixed link project, through a tunnel that will connect the British colony of Gibraltar with the Moroccan city of Tangiers.

 

“London has seriously embarked on studying the project that will link Europe to Africa,” the Arab Weekly reported, noting that in principle, the most plausible option is a 30 km-long underwater tunnel, similar to the Eurotunnel that connects the island of Great Britain with France, built at the end of the last century.