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The government has given the green light to the controversial 拢4bn Thames 鈥渟uper-sewer鈥� project, paving the way for construction to begin on the scheme.

Communities secretary Eric Pickles and environment secretary Elizabeth Truss last week said they had given development consent to the Thames Tideway Tunnel, with the ministers concluding there was 鈥渙n balance a good case鈥� for the project, which is designed to prevent millions of tonnes of untreated sewage discharging into the tidal River Thames.

The 25km tunnel will run from the Acton Storm Tanks in West London to the Abbey Mills pumping station in East London, with a storage capacity of 1,250,000 cubic metres.

Construction is expected to start in 2016 and be completed by 2023.

Pickles said: 鈥淭his is a challenging infrastructure project, but it is clear that the Thames Tunnel will help modernise London鈥檚 ageing Victorian sewerage system, and make the River Thames cleaner and safer.鈥�

In June, a worldwide search began for investors to back the company that will build the 拢4bn super-sewer.

As 好色先生TV revealed last year, UK contractors Balfour Beatty, Laing O鈥橰ourke, Costain and Morgan Sindall are among 18 firms shortlisted for 拢2.25bn of construction work on the project.

The award of the construction contracts is scheduled for 2015, with the main tunnel works due to begin in 2016, lasting seven years.

However, the project could still be delayed by legal challenges.

A spokesperson for Hammersmith and Fulham council, which opposes the scheme due to its impact on the borough, said its lawyers were 鈥渞eviewing the paperwork鈥� to see if there were 鈥渇irm grounds鈥� for a legal challenge.

Southwark council leader Peter John also pledged to 鈥渃ontinue to fight the decision鈥� and said the council was 鈥渓ooking at all our options including judicial review鈥�.