Italy’s government has approved a project to build the world’s longest suspension bridge that will connect Sicily to the mainland.

Italy's government on Wednesday approved a controversial 13.5-billion-euro ($15.6-billion) project to build what would be the world's longest suspension bridge connecting the island of Sicily to the mainland.

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.