Transcript of The undersea tunnel network that could transform Shetland's fortunes (Scotland) 15/July/2025

Replacing aging fairies with tunnels under the sea could help boost the Scottish economy and island life. According to business leaders and engineers, officials at Shetland Islands Council have been looking at how 20 tunnels have been dug through mountains and undersea, linking the Pharaoh Islands. They've transformed life for residents who can now travel at any time and without worrying about sea conditions. Our Scotland editor James Cook reports. The Shetland Isles may look remote, but they're no backwater. They have plenty of renewable energy, their own spaceport, and lots of fish. Salmon is the UK's biggest food export, and a quarter of it comes from Shetland. But producers say doing business here is tricky because of aging and unreliable feries. I think 10 years ago, Scottish salmon used to have 10% of the global market. Nowadays, we're we're slipping ever closer to 5%. And that gives you a scale of the difference that's happened. A missed opportunity. And will tunnels help with that? Most definitely. Most definitely. The Pharaoh Islands, also famed for fish, have an answer tunnels. They have more than 20, including four under the sea. Boosting growth, says the prime minister. I think we have learned in the Pharaoh Islands that u investments in infrastructure is a good uh investment both for for for the welfare for the people but also for for the growth when it's come to the population and also economy. Driving through these tunnels, I'm really struck by the scale of what they've built here. This one alone is nearly 7 mi long and deep beneath the water. They even have the world's first undersea roundabout. They call it the jellyfish and it links three communities on two islands which used to rely on fairies. So why are the pharaohs so far ahead of Shetland? From my perspective, it's about ambition. The Pharaoh set out with a huge ambition and they have led the world really at connecting an archipelago in the middle of the North Atlantic through uh blood, sweat and tears and focus. And quite frankly, it can be repeated in Shetland and not just Shetland, possibly elsewhere in Scotland. The Pharaoh Islanders built their tunnels with private finance which they're paying back through tolls. That's the most likely funding model for Shetland, too. In the meantime, many Shhatlanders are eyeing their northern neighbor with envy. James Cook, BBC News in the Fedo Islands.