June 18, 2007 (LPAC) Another big railway tunnel project is under discussion, complementary to the Bering Strait project: the Strait of Gibraltar route. A report in today's Frankfurter Allemande daily, revealed that about a week ago, the envoys of Spain and Morocco contacted the European Commission on a project to connect Africa with Europe, through a railway tunnel under the Strait of Gibraltar.

Consisting of three tubes, the tunnel would be built west of the narrowest point of the Strait (which is only 8 miles wide) for geological reasons. It would then be 22 miles long and connect Punta Paloma (Spain) with Malabata (Morocco). Projected completion is in 2025.

The Swiss firm Lombardi, which has expertise from its work on the St. Gotthard Tunnel under the Swiss Alps, is doing a feasibility study.

The tunnel would have its maximum economic benefit only if all five North African states of the Maghreb (Morocco, Algiers, Mauritania, Libya and Tunisia) enhance cooperation and especially develop their railway grid.