Bahrain's Gulf Finance House (GFH) will start building a $3 billion financial park and real estate development north of Tunisia's capital, a project that had been suspended for five years, Trade Arabia reported.

The project will be one of the largest private foreign investments in the North African state, which has struggled to revive its economy since the revolution that toppled former President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali three years ago.

A caretaker government has taken over to run Tunisia until elections later this year, ending months of crisis. But despite political progress, high living costs and a lack of economic opportunities remain the major concerns for many Tunisians.

GFH's project was scheduled to begin in 2009, but financial difficulties at the Islamic bank and Tunisia's 2011 uprising froze several large-scale projects.

"The $3 billion project will start on March 15, today we will sign an agreement with the Tunisian contracting companies to start practical implementation of the project in a few days," Lotfi Zar, the executive director of the project, told Reuters.

The site will contain a corporate centre, an investment banking and advisory centre and an insurance area. It will also include homes, offices, a golf course, a business school and trade centres.

It is expected to create 17,000 jobs, according to Bahraini officials.

GFH, created in 1999, has invested billions of dollars in infrastructure development projects in Mena.

The project, known as Tunis Financial Harbour and billed as the first financial park in North Africa, would cover 450 hectares in the Raoued suburb of Tunis.