RIYADH, Sept 25: Saudi King Abdullah on Tuesday launched a massive expansion project of the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah. The king, who has just returned to the kingdom after a vacation in Morocco, laid the foundation stone for the expansion of the mosque.

This major expansion of the mosque was ordered by the king earlier this year. The project envisages plans to accommodate more than 800,000 worshippers, according to an official Saudi statement.

The expansion project, the largest of its kind, is set to begin after Haj at the end of October.

According to Saudi officials, the project will require expropriation of land that may cost the government some $6.6 billion in compensation. The total cost of the project has not been announced.