Europe News Desk!! The Italian government has given permission to build the world’s longest suspension bridge between the island of Sicily and the Italian mainland. The construction of such a bridge had been under discussion for a long time, reports Xinhua news agency. In a statement on Thursday, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport said the bridge would be the crown jewel of Italian engineering. It will be 3,666 meters long. The Canakkale Bridge is currently the longest suspension bridge in Turkey with 2,023-metres. The Italian Messina Bridge project is estimated to cost around 8.5 billion euros ($9 billion) and take six years to complete. Significantly, in 251 BC, the Roman historian Pliny the Elder wrote of plans to build a temporary bridge to connect Sicily to the Italian mainland. Other projects were discussed in later centuries. The first modern project was announced in 1981 and a blueprint for the project was prepared in 2005. Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Matteo Salvini, said in a Thursday statement that the project would be environmentally friendly, reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with transportation. Salvini said it would also boost tourism and attract industry to the area.
–IANS
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World News Desk!!!