A new transport link between Europe and Africa has been forced to delay construction once again. The world has grown closer than ever, thanks to the significant progress of the digital revolution. We are now able to communicate and move between nations and continents faster than ever before. The next step to bring the nations of the world closer together would be to connect continents through innovative transport links; unfortunately, the latest development has been pushed back by a decade at the very least.
How could we connect the different continents of the world
The global nature of the business market means that nations are doing business with countries on the other side of the world. This has led to several projects that aim to connect the farthest countries of the world to each other. Developing a global connection has proven to be a challenge for even the most industrious of nations, but a plan has been developed and delayed for nearly 100 years.
A good place to start would be to connect Europe to Africa, seeing as how the two continents are only separated by a relatively small portion of the ocean. In 1869, a plan was developed to construct a railway line that would connect the African continent to the European one, but it ultimately fell apart over the years due to geological and engineering challenges.
The latest transport link between Europe and Africa has been delayed, once again
The original plan was to connect Africa to Europe through a transport link that would run through the Strait of Gibraltar. That plan was adopted once again by Morocco and Spain in 1979, but was delayed due to the geological challenges that such a project would face. The proposed railway would have run directly between the Eurasian and African tectonic plates.
The transport link between Europe and Africa has been pushed back significantly
As the plan has been developing over the past few decades, the reality is that it would require extensive geological and seismic studies to determine whether the plan is viable. With the studies now being revived by the governments of Spain and Morocco, the undeniable reality is that the project will need another ten years to develop, pushing the expected completion date back to 2040.
The 42-kilometer railway line will connect Punta Malabata, near Tangier in Morocco, to Punta Paloma, located in southern Spain. This will open the door to a new era of trade and tourism between Africa and Europe. Spain’s Transport Minister Oscar Puente has been instrumental in advancing the project, but new seismic data has revealed that the project requires more time to assess the impact on the ocean.
A new era of cross-border trade is set to emerge over the coming decade
As astonishing advancements in mobility technology emerge from the international market, the world is set to see a new era of cross-border trade that will reshape the world for decades to come. The project is being jointly managed by SNED (National Society for Strait Studies) and its Spanish counterpart, SECEGSA. Notably, the project has been in discussions between the two nations for almost 46 years now.
The new connection between Africa and Europe will have to wait a while
As the world enters a new year loaded with potential to reshape several markets, the transport link between Europe and Africa will need to remain patient, as the project management has noted that after nearly €50 million of feasibility studies, the project has been delayed once again to 2040. The advancement of the mobility market has been a sight for sore eyes, but in order to foster a new era of trade between Europe and Africa, the transport link will need to be developed.