Bahrain's Gulf Finance House plans to build an IT and telecoms business park in Tunisia worth $3 billion.

The site would contain an international telecoms university, an IT development centre and a park dedicated to multimedia and content creation.

The park would also include homes, offices and leisure centres and is expected to create about 26,000 jobs, said TAP, Tunisia’s official news agency. 

Tunisia aims to boost offshoring activities and lure bigger investment in new technologies to help accelerate economic growth and cut unemployment, which stands officially at 14%.

40 call centres in Tunisia have already absorbed 5,000 job seekers.

The government hopes to maintain investment inflows despite the global economic downturn, as companies are drawn to Tunisia's offer of cheaper labour and lower operating costs.

Gulf Finance House, created in 1999, has invested $12 billion in infrastructure development projects in the Middle East and North Africa.