The realization of the project would cause significant damage for Sebta which would be cut off from the other towns of the peninsula and would lose its tourists, not to mention its port which would also be abandoned. Clearly, Sebta would become a marginalized city, indicated an analysis published in the newspaper The Ceuta Lighthouse of December 29, 1995.
The project provides for the establishment of a “fixed link” between Spain and Morocco in the Strait of Gibraltar. Feasibility studies have been launched since 1980 by the Spanish Society for Studies for Fixed Communications through the Strait of Gibraltar (SECEG) and the Moroccan National Society for Studies of the Strait. Technicians from both countries as well as experts from all over the world participated in the congresses or symposia held in Tangier, Marrakech, Madrid, Seville and others to prepare the technical documents of the project.
To read: Big doubts about the feasibility of the tunnel between Morocco and Spain
These studies for the construction of the tunnel are very advanced. 38.7 kilometers long, including 27.7 underwater and 11 underground, the tunnel should link Tarifa (Punta Paloma) to Tangier (Ras Malabata). The work should start no later than 2005, according to the studies, and allow traffic of 7 to 10 million passengers and 4 to 6 million tonnes of goods per year.
The government of Sebta must participate in these meetings, as the city’s Chamber of Commerce has done since 1981, in order to ensure the integration of Sebta in the areas likely to be affected by the project. The construction of the tunnel will ultimately benefit from significant contributions from the Community in general and from Spain in particular.
