World's biggest plane may finally be finished after 30 years of gathering dust

The Soviet-era Antonov An-255 has a 250-tonne capacity and can carry a spacecraft, 10 tanks or 30 cars

Manufacturers may finally finish building the world's largest ever plan that's been gathering dust in an aircraft hanger since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The Antonov An-255, which is around 70 per cent complete, has been kept in storage in Ukraine for the past three decades.

The project started in 1989 but came to a halt in 1994, three years after the Soviet Union collapsed and funding dried up.

However, aircraft manufacturer Antonov is now hoping to raise the necessary cash to complete the plane.

The company needs about £270million to finish the aircraft, which would be a larger version of the only An-255 ever built, named the Mriya.

The Mriya, which means 'dream' in Ukrainian, was constructed in 1988 and is still the biggest and heaviest plane in history.

It is able to carry a spacecraft, 10 tanks or 30 cars - and has a standard crew of 22 people.

The new An-255 would have an 88.4-metre wingspan, an 84-metre fuselage and a 250-tonne capacity.

China backed Antonov's bid to complete the project by 2019, however this has not been acheived.

Cargo firms are interested in the aircraft because of the potential financial benefits it offers by reducing the need for multiple trips.

Antonov employee Gennadiy Silchenko told CNN last year: “When there is a need to solve such a problem [transporting heavy payloads] there will be a demand for the completion of the second aircraft and the investors will appear.”