Saudi Arabia is planning a major international expressway project linking the country with Jordan in the north and Yemen in the south, Communications Minister Nasir Al Salloum said.

Salloum said the government had made allocations for the project in the current national budget and added that the road would pass through Tewal, Jizan, Darb, Qunfidah, Laith, Jeddah, Yanbu and north Aqaba.

The report said the announcement came as Crown Prince Abdullah, Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard, laid the foundation stone for a 20-km road in Taif, linking Oqbat Al Muhammadiya in Shafa and its suburban areas with Tihama and the Red Sea coast.

According to a local newspaper, the minister said the new road would be built at a cost SR36 million ($9.6 million).

Salloum said work was under way on the Jizan-Darb dual carriageway.

"We have already completed the main part of this vital road," he was quoted as saying. "The project will take months to complete because the work is being carried out without disrupting the traffic.''

The minister also disclosed that his ministry was constructing a ring road in Jizan to facilitate traffic in the region.

The Saudi government has already spent more than SR120 billion on building state-of-the-art roads, highways and flyovers in various parts of the country, the report said.