Thousands of people have marched in Sicily to protest against a government plan to build a bridge that would connect the Italian mainland to the Mediterranean island, and would be the world’s longest single-span bridge.

Some 10,000 demonstrators marched in the Sicilian city of Messina on Saturday to stage their opposition to the 13.5-billion-euro ($15.7bn) infrastructure project.

Residents are against the proposed Strait of Messina Bridge project over its scale, earthquake threats, environmental effect, and potential mafia interference.

The idea to build the bridge has been debated for decades. This week, however, it saw a major step forward when a government committee overseeing strategic public investments approved the plan.

Transport Minister Matteo Salvini called it “the biggest i

See Full Page