Africa and Europe are only about 14 kilometres apart at their closest point.

At the Strait of Gibraltar, the shortest distance between continental Europe and continental Africa is about 14 kilometres, from Point Marroquí in Spain to Point Cires in Morocco. The strait links the Atlantic Ocean with the Mediterranean Sea and is one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

Engineers have studied a fixed link between Morocco and Spain — a tunnel or a bridge — for decades, but the strait’s depth of nearly 900 metres and its strong currents have kept the idea on the drawing board.