Spain invests €500,000 in seismic monitoring equipment for Morocco tunnel project

SECEGSA, the Spanish entity overseeing the Morocco tunnel project, has invested around €500,000 in seismic monitoring equipment.

This move aims to assess earthquake risks in the Strait of Gibraltar region, where the future tunnel between Europe and Africa is planned,  according to Iberian news outlet Vozpopuli.

SECEGSA, added the same source, secured on November 6, a deal to lease four high-performance seabed seismometers, capable of operating at depths up to 6,000 meters for six to 24 months, with the company having the option to purchase the equipment.

In the first six months, the Royal Institute and Naval Observatory are expected to assess the equipment’s condition before proceeding with the purchase from TEKPAM Ingenieria, a Madrid-based company and the only bidder for this tender.

This is the first seismic risk assessment in the region by Secegsa in a decade. The previous study, completed in 2014, identified a risk of earthquakes larger than magnitude 4 occurring at depths greater than 40 kilometers.

The research, led by Elisa Buforn, a geophysics and meteorology professor at the Complutense University of Madrid, advised that “high-intensity earthquakes be studied systematically and recommended a thorough investigation into earthquake depths.”

This decision, according to Spanish media, comes after the United States Geological Survey (USGS) became involved, following a memorandum of understanding signed between Secegsa and USGS on November 3, 2023.

The agreement came amid the growing cooperation between the US and Moroccan authorities, which has strengthened since the beginning of US President Donald Trump’s administration.

The first partnership between Secegsa and USGS led to a contract valued at €178,915.17, with additional services scheduled for 2024.

These activities are part of an enhanced collaboration with the National Geographic Institute and the Royal Naval Observatory to move forward with a Technical and Scientific Research Plan that has been on hold since 1989.

Also, the public engineering firm Ineco has been tasked to develop a new preliminary project for the proposed tunnel, scheduled for completion by mid-2026.

Ineco will update the 2007 study conducted by Spanish, Moroccan, Swiss, and Italian firms. Funded by Next Generation EU funds, Ineco will outline construction options, feasibility, safety assessments, and provide an overall cost estimate for the full scope of the work, covering both Moroccan and Secegsa channels.