Tunnelling through

Plans for a tunnel between Spain and Morocco are back on the table.

Pandemic recovery plan

THE Bank of Spain released its economic forecast for the pandemic recovery plan on Monday, February 6, saying that it predicts a direct GDP improvement of 1.15 per cent per year, which could rise to 1.75 per cent annually.

Economists at the Bank of Spain note that funding from the European Union would have the greatest impact on sectors related to digitalisation like the information and communication industries and technological services as well as the construction sector.

Increased productivity in the transport sector since material shortages have been re- solved is also expected to have a positive knock-on effect. However, the Bank of Spain has warned that a skilled labour shortage could reduce the effects of the plan.

The plan was approved by the EU at the end of 2022.

MINISTERS assured the public that plans for a land tunnel between Morocco and Spain are still on the table after the two countries held a summit in Morocco.

The Spanish government included a sum of €750,000 in their budget for 2023 to fund studies into the viability of a tunnel which would run through the Strait of Gibraltar.

The most optimistic reports suggest that a 42 kilometre tunnel could be built and opened to the public between 2030 and 2040 if work gets underway soon.

While there are no official plans for the tunnel, it was one of the topics of discussion between President Pedro Sánchez and Moroccan Prime Minister, Aziz Akhannouch.

The long-awaited project was first proposed back in 1979 and a committee of North African and European delegates meets regularly to discuss it after plans were revived in Spain’s 2021 budget.