Italy's right-wing government resuscitates mega Sicily bridge project

FILE PHOTO: Ferries sail in view of the Italian mainland side of the Straits of Messina November 9, 2009. REUTERS/Tony Gentile

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's new right-wing government revived on Tuesday moribund plans to connect the island of Sicily to the mainland with a giant bridge - one of the most ambitious engineering projects ever conceived.

The bridge has been in the planning stages for decades, but appeared to have been killed off in 2013 when the former Prime Minister Mario Monti shut down the company created to oversee its construction amidst an austerity drive.