Italy has finally approved a €13.5bn (£12bn) plan to build the world’s longest suspension bridge from the mainland to Sicily – an idea first envisaged by the ancient Romans – despite concerns funds will be siphoned off by the mafia.

The project to build a long-delayed and debated bridge linking the Italian mainland with Sicily has cleared a major hurdle. Work will begin on what will be the world’s longest suspension

Italy's government was set on Wednesday to give the final approval to the multi-billion-euro project to build a bridge connecting Sicily to the mainland, paving the way for works to begin after decades of discussions.