People should be able to climb the tower from October

The planned October opening had been delayed because work was needed on a glass lift.

On Thursday developers Mowlem said they would be handing the tower over to the council within seven days.

The council said it expected all outstanding work to be completed by then and that the tower, which has been beset with problems, could open soon.

Small defects

It said the tower operator Heritage had been notified and urged to complete their staff training and merchandising.

The harbour centre-piece was originally planned to be completed in time for the new Millennium.

But it has suffered years of problems and spiralling costs, which have left taxpayers more than �10m out of pocket.

Fears over the concrete used in the tower's construction were dismissed by experts after small defects were found during a routine inspection in March 2004.

Remedial work has been carried out to correct the faults.

Its operators missed out on potential income from thousands of visitors to the Trafalgar 200 and International Festival of the Sea events, which were both held earlier in the summer.