Saudi Arabia’s Consulting Engineering Group has completed the design work for the 11km Mecca-Taif road tunnel but the tender for the construction package of the project is not expected to be released before end 2017.

The designs are understood to have been submitted to both the Mecca Municipality and the Transport Ministry in January.

“The financial issues here [in Saudi Arabia] means the project is not likely to be released to the market anytime soon,” a source told MEED.

The project is estimated to cost up to $500m.

It entails the construction of two parallel tunnels, with each having three lanes one for upward traffic to Taif and two for downward traffic to Mecca.

Originally planned in 2009, with the initial design work completed three years later, the tunnel is meant to link Mecca, the kingdom’s and the Islamic world’s holiest city, with Taif, which is commonly referred to as the province’s summer resort capital.

Saudi Arabia is in the process of restructuring its transport sector, with its two rail agencies, the Saudi Railway Company (SAR) and Saudi Railways Organisation (SRO), set to be merged.

Last year, the Public Transport Authority merged with the SRO.