A new underwater tunnel worth ￡6 billion could link Spain to Morocco by 2030, it has been reported.

       Earlier this week, the Moroccan National Company for Strait Studies (SNED) said that the work has begun to explore the financing and strategic elements of the project, The Telegraph reports.

       The tunnel underwater would be 17 miles long (28km) at its deepest point, reaching 1,550 feet (475m) below the surface.

       It would link Punta Paloma, situated west of Tarifa, to Malabata in northern Morocco, close to Tangier's eastern side.

       The cost of building two tunnels, along with a third service tunnel, remains uncertain, but some predictions suggest the project could amount to approx ￡6.84 billion (€8 billion).

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       SECEGSA, the Spanish Society for Fixed Communication Studies across the Strait of Gibraltar, foresees that the tunnel, connecting Spain and Morocco's railway systems, could accommodate 12.8 million passengers every year.

       Additionally, SECEGSA suggests it could become a significant route for trade, capable of moving 13 million tons of cargo between Africa and Europe.

       With this tunnel in place, travel time between Madrid and Casablanca could be reduced to just 5.5 hours, compared to the approximately 12-hour journey by road, which includes a ferry crossing.

       In March, the Moroccan minister of water and equipment, Nizar Baraka, met the Spanish transport minister, Oscar Puente, to discuss the matter.

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       Plans have intensified following FIFA's announcement that the 2030 World Cup will take place in Portugal, Spain, and Morocco.

       The Spanish government proposed the idea of a tunnel under the Strait of Gibraltar in 1930, but it was shelved due to the hard rock seabed, which made tunnelling impossible with the technology of the time.

       Despite advancements, the tunnel remains one of the most ambitious undersea projects globally, more complex than the Channel Tunnel between England and France.

       The region's geological fault and seismic activity pose challenges, and the shortest distance between continents coincides with the deepest part of the strait, reaching depths of up to 2,950 feet (900m).

       In 1979, Spain and Morocco formed a committee to assess the tunnel's feasibility, but it didn't progress further. Recently, interest in the project has revived, particularly with the opening of Morocco's Al Boraq high-speed railway line, linking Casablanca and Tangier, the first of its kind in Africa.