A Light at the End of the Tunnel
11 July 2013
Read by 1658 persons
The end of the tunnel seems within reach for the futuristic fixed link project between Africa and Europe, under the Strait of Gibraltar.
The idea is being actively considered by the United Nations, more than thirty years after preliminary studies were launched at the initiative of the Moroccan and Spanish monarchs.
Renewed interest in the African market and its untapped opportunities has revived the project for a two-lane underwater tunnel, a dream also held in an Old Continent struggling with recession.
Especially since, in any case, it is Europe that would primarily benefit from this project. This is the conclusion reached by its Moroccan and European promoters, actively supported by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which is keen to ensure the success of this colossal project.
In Geneva, the council addressed this during its July session, to show the world that this is the ideal solution to establish a strong and lasting link between the two continents' transport systems, and, above all, to send a message of rapprochement between peoples and civilizations.
From a strategic point of view, ECOSOC sees the project as "an opportunity to create a par excellence intercontinental hub, thanks to its position as a gateway to the Mediterranean," it points out in a report presented last Friday.
However, the European Union member states will be the first to economically benefit, while Morocco and Spain, directly involved in the future link, will only benefit secondarily.
And, obviously, Brussels is well aware that the economic interest of the project is linked to traffic forecasts, according to which two-thirds of passengers and three-quarters of goods transiting through the future tunnel would come from European countries.
But the question arises as to the extent to which the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) will be able to take ownership of the current momentum and give full meaning and dimension to the privileged partnership between the two shores that it has constantly called for.
In the meantime, the Economic and Social Council is preparing to adopt, at the end of its annual session, a draft resolution requesting the executive secretaries of the Economic Commissions for Africa and Europe to actively contribute to the monitoring of the project and to report to ECOSOC on progress made.
The council had already welcomed, in a previous resolution, the progress made on preliminary work and deep-sea drilling, work that has, it stated, given "a decisive impetus to geological and geotechnical reconnaissance, and to the updating of technical, economic and traffic studies."
The distance separating the two continents at the Strait of Gibraltar is only 14 kilometers, but given the water depth, it proved necessary to build a nearly 40-kilometer-long rail tunnel slightly further west.
The choice of a rail rather than a road link is due to safety and environmental reasons. The implementation conditions are more complex than for the Channel Tunnel, opened in 1994, given the permeability of the seabed in this area.
The project is currently managed by two companies, one Moroccan and one Spanish, headed by a joint committee set up to monitor the different stages of the project in accordance with a work program adopted in 2007.
For Morocco and Spain, one thing is certain: the construction of a tunnel under the Mediterranean is self-evident. If the project is successful, the two kingdoms will quickly find themselves at the heart of trade exchanges between Europe and Africa, with undeniable impacts in terms of investment, job creation, and wealth.
It remains to be seen whether European countries facing economic difficulties would immediately want to take the plunge on this long-awaited project, so that what seemed like a dream finally becomes reality.
MAP
Lematin.ma
Published July 11, 2013.
Posted online July 11, 2013.
The idea is being actively considered by the United Nations, more than thirty years after preliminary studies were launched at the initiative of the Moroccan and Spanish monarchs.
Renewed interest in the African market and its untapped opportunities has revived the project for a two-lane underwater tunnel, a dream also held in an Old Continent struggling with recession.
Especially since, in any case, it is Europe that would primarily benefit from this project. This is the conclusion reached by its Moroccan and European promoters, actively supported by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which is keen to ensure the success of this colossal project.
In Geneva, the council addressed this during its July session, to show the world that this is the ideal solution to establish a strong and lasting link between the two continents' transport systems, and, above all, to send a message of rapprochement between peoples and civilizations.
From a strategic point of view, ECOSOC sees the project as "an opportunity to create a par excellence intercontinental hub, thanks to its position as a gateway to the Mediterranean," it points out in a report presented last Friday.
However, the European Union member states will be the first to economically benefit, while Morocco and Spain, directly involved in the future link, will only benefit secondarily.
And, obviously, Brussels is well aware that the economic interest of the project is linked to traffic forecasts, according to which two-thirds of passengers and three-quarters of goods transiting through the future tunnel would come from European countries.
But the question arises as to the extent to which the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) will be able to take ownership of the current momentum and give full meaning and dimension to the privileged partnership between the two shores that it has constantly called for.
In the meantime, the Economic and Social Council is preparing to adopt, at the end of its annual session, a draft resolution requesting the executive secretaries of the Economic Commissions for Africa and Europe to actively contribute to the monitoring of the project and to report to ECOSOC on progress made.
The council had already welcomed, in a previous resolution, the progress made on preliminary work and deep-sea drilling, work that has, it stated, given "a decisive impetus to geological and geotechnical reconnaissance, and to the updating of technical, economic and traffic studies."
The distance separating the two continents at the Strait of Gibraltar is only 14 kilometers, but given the water depth, it proved necessary to build a nearly 40-kilometer-long rail tunnel slightly further west.
The choice of a rail rather than a road link is due to safety and environmental reasons. The implementation conditions are more complex than for the Channel Tunnel, opened in 1994, given the permeability of the seabed in this area.
The project is currently managed by two companies, one Moroccan and one Spanish, headed by a joint committee set up to monitor the different stages of the project in accordance with a work program adopted in 2007.
For Morocco and Spain, one thing is certain: the construction of a tunnel under the Mediterranean is self-evident. If the project is successful, the two kingdoms will quickly find themselves at the heart of trade exchanges between Europe and Africa, with undeniable impacts in terms of investment, job creation, and wealth.
It remains to be seen whether European countries facing economic difficulties would immediately want to take the plunge on this long-awaited project, so that what seemed like a dream finally becomes reality.
MAP
Lematin.ma
Published July 11, 2013.
Posted online July 11, 2013.
