Experts Explain CI Undersea Tunnel Idea

Business leaders in Guernsey have been hearing how an undersea tunnel could link Jersey, Guernsey and France.

Experts, who constructed subsea tunnels in the Faroe Islands, have been talking to Guernsey business leaders about replicating the idea in the Channel.

Connect 3 Million, a collaboration of Channel Islanders, has brought Arild. P. Sovik, Network Director at the Norwegian Tunnelling Society; and Teitur Samuelsen, CEO of Eystur- og Sandoyartunlar, the Faroe Islands government-owned tunnel corporation, to the islands to give presentations to Jersey and Guernsey's Chambers of Commerce.

It could mean being able to travel by train from St Peter Port to Jersey Airport and onto Normandy in around an hour.

Martin Dorey, founder of backers Connect 3 Million, says it should be done here.

"I'm expecting the entire cost to be a lot lower than what has been said before, ideally in the region of a billion pounds for each segment.

It would be revenue-generating, and it would pay itself back, which would be terrific.

But the key benefit is that it would really secure the economic viability of the islands, probably for the next 300 years."

He says the idea is building momentum:

"What tends to happen with projects like this is that it becomes a grand vision. It pulls people together and becomes a source of optimism.

We all have the responsibility for building a better future for ourselves.

So the next steps are for us to be opened minded for this and encourage government to look at it seriously."

Rollo De Sausmarez, who is part of Connect 3 Million, is passionate about it:

"The economic benefits for the island from the utilisation of existing infrastructure are really exciting; things you could use your port for, things you could use your airport for, access to Guernseys port which is a better deep water port for cruise ships.

Often I think we sell ourselves short. If we can connect, from an economic, social, employment (and) housing situation we can really turbo charge our economy."