This year could see the long-awaited plans for an underwater tunnel linking Spain with north Africa move closer to realisation, it has emerged. Experts have been working on technical reports for the project since 2006 and are due to present their findings this year, although the idea of a tunnel under the Straits of Gibraltar was first considered by the Spanish and Moroccan authorities as far back as 1980. According to southern Spanish newspaper Sur, the main sticking point of the development relates to financial matters - a conservative estimate puts the cost at approximately 5,000 million euros. 

However, with Spain and Morocco applying to the World Bank, European Investment Bank and Arab Monetary Fund for financial backing, there is renewed hope that 2008 could be a year of significant progress in what will be a complex undertaking for both countries. Italian engineer Giovanni Lombardi once said that the Spain-Morocco tunnel would make the Channel Tunnel between England and France look like “child’s play”. Costa del Sol property owners can currently visit north Africa using the Algeciras to Tangier high-speed ferry, which usually takes just over 30 minutes.