By rosebell
In order to conducting an exploratory tunnel study into the feasibility of the railway connection linking Spain and Morocco,Spanish engineering firm Ineco has been commissioned.
Including establish of a detailed technical roadmap for the project, this contract’s value is $1m as Spanish media reports.
The preliminary design of the exploratory tunnel, revisions to previous studies, as well as a comprehensive update of the route, geology, geotechnical conditions, security systems, terminals and associated installations, are Ineco’s scope of work.
During this study that is scheduled to to be completed by August next year, Ineco is going to validate the critical geological conditions of the Strait, particularly in the areas of the project’s greatest risks.
Following that the Herrenknecht completed its study in October and found the project was feasible as the required technology was available,the latest development was achieved.
The media reports added that clients will further study the project and make a final decision in 2027 regarding tendering.
With the aim of to carrying out a financial feasibility study for the proposed infrastructure,Ineco had concluded an estimated €350,000 ($409,000) contract, as MEED reported in August.
Also for providing advanced telecommunications support to teams working on the project, UK-based Vodafone won a contract, whereas these developments followed the appointment of Herrenknecht in January for a €296,400 ($307,483) contract to conduct a drilling feasibility study.
Following allocating around $2.5m for a renewed design study, the Spanish government revived the Morocco-Spain undersea rail link in June last year.
Considering the 2008 global financial crisis, this project, that originally started up in 2003, was put on hold and has undergone several rounds of feasibility studies but remains in the planning phase after almost two decades of funding-related delays.
Involving a double-track railway and a service tunnel stretching 38.5km between Tarifa in Spain and Tangier in Morocco, 28km of the proposed design would run beneath the Mediterranean Sea at a maximum depth of 475m.
While the inner diameter of each single-track tunnel would be 7.9m, the service gallery would be 6m in diameter.
The responsibility of advancing this project is up to Morocco’s National Society for Strait of Gibraltar Studies and Spain’s Sociedad Espanola de Estudios para la Comunicacion Fija a Traves del Estrecho de Gibraltar.
While the date of appointing Swiss engineering firm Lombardi Engineering to design the tunnel was 2006,preliminary studies were completed two years later.
