Works open on Makkah mosque extension

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia was to officially launch a $10.6-billion extension project yesterday for the Grand Mosque in Makkah, Islam's holiest city, media reports said.
The project is intended to allow the complex to accommodate some two million worshippers at a time, the daily Asharq al-Awsat said.
The project envisages a multi-level extension on the north side of the complex, together with stairways and tunnels to facilitate worshippers access to the mosque, built around the cubic Kaaba that all Muslims face to pray.
The Grand Mosque underwent significant expansion in the mid-1980s, but the number of Muslim pilgrims has steadily grown, requiring another expansion.