The single-span steel bridge from Fort St Elmo to the breakwater arm in Grand Harbour arrived on a ship from Spain this afternoon and will be put in place in the coming days, weather permitting, the Infrastructure Ministry said.

The steel structure was brought to Malta on board the MV Storman Asia. The structure is 70 metres long and weighs 190 tons.

The project was unveiled in 2009, when Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt said it was projected to cost €2.8 million.

The new bridge will replace the two-span bridge which was partly demolished in an Italian attack in 1941 and subsequently removed.

Although the government's original plan was to rebuild a replica of the Victorian bridge, the proposal was found to require a lot of steel and was not deemed cost-effective. As a result, a simpler design was drawn up, incorporating a steel arch, a timber deck and an observation area.

The tender conditions specified that the bridge must have a lifespan of 120 years. 12 bids were submitted for the project

The steel bridge is one of the government's projects for the regeneration of Grand Harbour, which also includes the panoramic lift linking Lascaris Wharf to Upper Barrakka, and the removal of the tank-cleaning facilit