March 25, 2022
would like to build a tunnel the world’s longest, by far under the Persian Gulf to Qatar
Iranian officials are interested in building what would be the world’s longest tunnel—by far—under the Persian Gulf to Qatar, though where the astronomical sums needed to build it would come from is a mystery.
According to Iranian media reports, Transport Minister Rostam Qasemi was due to discuss the topic with his Qatari counterpart in Doha in mid-February. Nothing has yet been said by Qatar.
Given the perilous state of the Iranian economy, the hefty bill would almost certainly have to be shouldered by Qatar.
A key question is whether there would be enough traffic to warrant such a tunnel. Iran and Qatar have very little trade with one another, and Qatar is not a major destination for Iranian travelers—most of whom come from the north of Iran and would likely fly before taking a long over land (and under sea) trip.
Iran would like to build the tunnel from the northern tip of the Qatari Peninsula to the Iranian coast near Dayyer, a distance of around 190 kilometers (118 miles). That is almost three times longer than the current longest transport tunnel, the 68-kilometer section of Line 6 of the Chengdu Metro in southwest China. And that tunnel is under land, a much easier proposition that building under water.
The Persian Gulf tunnel would be five times longer than the current record-holder for the longest undersea tunnel – the 38-kilometer under water section of the Channel Tunnel connecting France to the UK. Built from 1988 to 1994, the project cost $21 billion and remains the most expensive construction project in history.
Ali-Akbar Safaei, managing director of Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization, discussed the desire for the tunnel, but gave no cost estimates.
His comments suggest Iran would like the new tunnel to accommodate both road and rail links, while the Channel Tunnel only carries a railroad, making it much simpler.
Currently, the world’s longest road tunnel is the 24.5-kilometer Lerdal Tunnel in Norway, which has been designed to tackle feelings of claustrophobia or inattentiveness that drivers might succumb to, with rest pull-offs every six kilometers and special lighting to add variety and fight drowsiness.
State-owned PressTV said the project would only go ahead once a joint Qatari-Iranian committee finished studies and negotiations on the project.
To many, the proposal smacked of being a prestige project, the kind that the revolutionaries criticized the Shah for building. “Prestige projects” denounced by the revolutionaries included the Tehran Metro, the freeway to the Caspian from Tehran, and the nuclear power industry.