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.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's coalition hailed the state-funded project as an economic boost for the impoverished south of Italy -- only for critics to warn that it risks turning into a financial black hole.

Italian politicians have for decades debated a bridge over the Strait of Messina, a narrow strip of water between the island of Sicily and the region of Calabria, at the toe of Italy's boot.

But ministers say Wednesday's approval by a government committee, CIPESS, is the furthest the project has ever got.

Advocates say the bridge, due for completion by 2032, is at the cuttin

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