The Morocco Strunnel
England and France have their Chunnel, so why shouldn’t Morocco and Spain have their Strunnel (Straight + Tunnel)? In recent news, Morocco’s Minister of Transport and M-6, Mohammed VI, King of Morocco, are pushing for an underwater tunnel under the Mediterranean that will not only bridge the gap between Morocco and Spain; Africa and Europe, but that will boost economies and what many agree is a dream that will soon become a reality.
Karim Ghellab, Morocco's minister of transportation stated recently, "It's not easy to predict a date yet, but it is a project that will happen". The tunnel will be beneficial to both continents, linking lands that will be a part of the Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Zone. Morocco, which has seen a tremedous influx of tourists from both Europe and elsewhere are on track promoting their 10-million tourists by 2010 campaign. Tangier has already been undergoing a massive makeover in order to attract foregin investors. Additionally, interstate sytems are being built to match the goals. Recently, Morocco and Europe officially signed an open sky agreement that allows low-budget carriers to land in the country with hardly any taxes.

The Swiss firm running the geological tests have confirmed that the tunnel will have to connect Morocco and Spain at points where the depths of the water are not so great. In some areas between Morocco and Spain, the Mediterranean is 3,000-feet (about 1,000-meters) deep. Ghellab went on to say, "We’ve already done a tremendous amount of work to make this dream come true, to go from an idea—a concept that is just philosophical—into something we can transform into reality.”

Europe and Africa wait on the day that construction will begin. Working in the depths of the Mediterrean will be an engineering marvel, to say the least. The Strunnel* will link Cape Malabata to Punta Paloma at nearly 1000-feet (about 300-meters) below sea level.

Brought to you by : Journey Beyond Travel – Morocco Tours, Vacations, & Excursions

*Strunnel is a phrase first coined by Journey Beyond Travel.