Morocco: Spain and Morocco have agreed to continue with plans to bore a rail tunnel under the Straits of Gibraltar this week at the eight top level summit between the two countries in Morocco's capital Rabat. The Spanish Prime Minister, José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero promised that his government was "firmly committed" to the tunnel project linking Spain with Morocco, once the geological studies commissioned late last year are published.

The monumental feat of engineering to link two continents under the 39 Km straights is expected to be financed in part by the European Union, due to the major advantages to Europe that the tunnel will provide. Whilst Morocco and Spain will benefit most, and will both in turn be contributing a sizeable proportion of the costs, the project is one that will certainly require considerable investment from outside sources.

The Moroccan Prime Minister, Dris Jetu believes that this project is "within reach". The official evaluation report will not be produced until early in 2008 so it is apparent that there is still some way to go before work can realistically commence, and the historic meeting between the boring machines under the Straits is unlikely to coincide with the King Mohammed VI's Vision 2010 strategy.

The preliminary studies have demonstrated that the most suitable locations for the tunnel are Punta Paloma in Andalucia and Punto Malabata, just north of Tangier and after over 20 years of speculation and planning the tunnel does now not only appear to be feasible, but appears to be turning into a reality. It is only in the last two years that the project has really been kickstarted into action and 2006 saw a major leap forward following a 33-million Euro study which has shown that the tunnel will need to be 39 Km long and bored to a depth of 400M, and the construction of a 500 M test tunnel by Spain is a measure of the commitment of the nation to making the project a reality.

On the African side of the straights there is a similarly strong commitment to making the project a reality, with King Mohammed VI determined to improve the infrastructure of the country and capitalise further on increasing tourism to the country. The Vision 2010 strategy goes some way towards making sure that when the train reaches African shores it is not the end of the line, and that Morocco is ready and poised to fully capitalise on the increased volumes of tourists that are expected to flock to Morocco as a result.

In the meantime, overseas investment continues to pour into Morocco as more and more investors are seeing the potential of the country, regardless of whether the tunnel does actually becomes a reality.