Gibraltar fixed link project progressing, Annan says

United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, said the feasibility study of the fixed link project across the 14-km Gibraltar strait separating Morocco and Spain, is progressing.

New studies will be crucial in ameliorating the geological knowledge of the sub-marine structures of the strait, Annan said in a report to the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

Studies on the Gibraltar fixed link have been jointly conducted by Morocco and Spain since October 1980, when the two countries concluded an accord on the project.

The accord, amended in 1989, provides for the official commitment of Morocco and Spain to conduct jointly the feasibility study of the project.

The agreement also stipulates the creation of a permanent joint inter-governmental committee to supervise the implementation of the project. Two state firms, based in Rabat and Madrid, are entrusted with carrying out the project.