Apple is awaiting approval from New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) for an ambitious construction project at New York metro Grand Central Terminal, reported constructiondigital.com. Apple, the world's most popular computer and electronics manufacturer, hopes to build its largest retail store ever in the historic Grand Central main concourse. The lease would cost Apple US$ 800 thousand annually for the first ten years and would bump up to US$ 1.1 million a year after the first decade. The property is currently in use by Charlie Palmer's Metrazur restaurant, which pays an annual lease of US$ 263.997 thousand. The deal is expected to be approved today at the absolute latest due to the significant financial incentive being offered to the MTA and the city of New York. Apple has also agreed to pay Metrazur US$ 5 million if the restaurant vacates the east balcony location immediately. If the MTA gives the go-ahead, Apple is expected to begin construction on the property almost immediately. The site will be renovated to better suit the company's needs for a retail store, which would be completed in about four months after construction crews begin working. The new Apple store in Grand Central Terminal would span over 2136 square meters, the largest retail store in the company's already massive collection. Currently the largest Apple store in the world is located in Convent Garden in London, England. That location covers 2320 square meters, but only 1520 square meters of that property is open to the public.

On July 25 Iran, Iraq and Syria agreed to build a major gas pipeline to transfer the country's natural gas from Iran's South Pars gas field to Eastern Mediterranean countries and Europe, reported ITAR-TASS. It should be noted, that this project would set a serious rival to EU gas pipeline Nabucco - from Central Asia and Caspian region to the EU. The construction of a new 5000km pipeline, which is also called the "Islamic Gas Pipeline", will cost about US$ 10 billion. It is expected that the new pipeline would ultimately have the capacity to pump 110 million cubic meters of natural gas per day. A 1500 km section from southern Iran to Damascus will be commissioned in the period between 2014 and 2016. New gas pipeline will ship gas from South Pars to Iraq then to Lebanon, eastern Mediterranean countries and Europe. International consortium is created for the pipeline construction. At the signing-ceremony of a gas pipeline agreement, Iran's caretaker Oil Minister Mohammad Aliabadi said that Europe is in dire need of Iran's gas, according to the official IRNA news agency. Aliabadi said this agreement would strengthen trilateral relations among the three Islamic countries and it will also lead to ensuring economic security in the region, said the report. According to research by BP, Iran has roughly 28 trillion cubic meters of natural gas - the second largest reserves in the world after Russia with reserves about 45 trillion cubic meters.

The historic hall of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia will reopen its doors to public on October 28 with gala-concert, which will broadcast in 600 cinemas around the world. Bolshoi Theatre closed for long-planned reconstruction on July 2, 2005. Renovation was scheduled to be completed in 2008, but it was clear that the contractor could not meet the deadline. The Bolshoi Theatre was waiting for reconstruction for more than 115 years. The primery objective was to move the building to the new base, as the former was destroyed and builders were afraid to start any work. The building stood on oak piles, which have alredy been destroyed. During current renovation rotting wooden piles were removed, and now the building stood on 7 thousand steel piles. After new base appeared main contractor built an impressive underground portion, therefore the total floor area of the theatre doubled from 40 to 80 thousand square meters. On 5 floors of underground part of complex will be situated lifting, lowering and rotation gears of the stage, the scenery automatic feeding/moving devices, a chamber and rehearsal halls. According to spokesman of main contractor "Summa Kapital" Mikhael Sidorov, the main result of reconstruction was recovery theatre's XIX century acoustics. To do so, the main hall is made more freely - now there are 1740 seats instead of 2100 the cement floor of the main hall was removed and the orchestra pit and so on. Now underway a second stage of desalting columns of the main facade of the Bolshoi Theatre, aimed to secure the historic original ivory color of the stone.

As reported by Reuters.com, a key Los Angeles freeway closed for construction work and reopened about 16 hours ahead of schedule on Sunday. After freeway reopened, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa proclaimed "Mission accomplished and the early reopening saved about US$ 400 thousand in salary and other costs associated with the project". A 6.2-kilometer stretch of Interstate 405 that ranks as the most heavily traveled section of freeway in the United States was shut down on July 17 night to allow for demolition of half a bridge as part of a US$1 billion freeway widening project. Crews finished demolition work on the bridge in 37 hours, toppling two massive pillars, which interfered freeway widening. Villaraigosa said, that workers had made "great progress" on demolition of the half-century-old Mulholland Bridge. Powerful machines with long booms hammered away at the south side of the span, which was being removed to allow construction of an additional freeway lane. The plan was to leave the north-side lanes standing until the south side is rebuilt. Another closure will be required in about 11 months to demolish the north side. According to newser.com, city authorities worried about "Carmageddon" of traffic jams. That's why officials had set a fine to contractor. Project contractor Kiewit Infrastructure West faced a US$ 6 thousand fine in each direction for every 10 minutes of delay in getting the freeway reopened, according to the city's Metropolitan Transportation Authority. That's a total of US$ 72 thousand an hour. Despite of this, for weeks, authorities warned people that driving as usual this weekend could trigger what's been hyped as Carmageddon _ an event that could back up vehicles from the I-405 to surface streets and other freeways, causing a domino effect that could paralyze much of Los Angeles. JetBlue Airways also helped offering US$ 4 flights between Burbank and Long Beach as a special weekend promotion.

Construction on the Kolkata Museum of Modern Art (KMOMA) has started in the city Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta), India, reported artmediaagency.com. Unlike New Delhi and Mumbai, the city of Kolkata has no modern art museum, despite its traditional status as a center of art and culture. That is about to change - and in a big way - as the city prepares to build the largest museum of modern art in Asia, to be completed in 2015. According to business-standard.com, Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron has designed the Kolkata Museum of Modern Art, which will cost US$ 90.5 million to build and, at over 70 thousand square meters. Located in New Town, Rajarhat, in east Kolkata, the nine-story institution will feature 44 galleries, an auditorium, a library, and an amphitheater with a capacity for 1.500 people. The institution will build a permanent collection of both Asian and Western art. It will also include an academic wing and studios for visiting artists. Stores and restaurants will be developed alongside the museum. The museum is funded through a private-public partnership, with the West Bengal government providing US$ 30.2 million and the central government contributing US$ 33.1 million. The remaining funds will be raised from the private sector.