Italy has cleared the way to build the world’s largest suspension bridge linking the Italian mainland with Sicily.

Rome has given final approval to a €13.5bn ($15.6bn) project to build the world’s longest suspension bridge, connecting the island of Sicily to the region of Calabria, on the tip of Italy’s boot. The designers claim the bridge – which is due to be built on one of the most seismically active areas in the

Italy's government gave final approval on Wednesday to the construction of what will be the world's longest single-span bridge, linking Sicily to the mainland, despite environmental, financial and other concerns that have delayed it for decades.