The tower is already a major landmark in the city

The landmark tower was finally handed over to the city council from developers Mowlem on Tuesday night.

The handover had been postponed on 6 October because of problems with the external lift. The council says it has since operated successfully 500 times.

Operators Heritage will announce the exact day of the tower's opening at a press conference on Thursday.

The landmark was due to open for the Millennium, but the tower has been beset with problems, including a �10m overspend at the taxpayers' expense.

The public was originally promised it would not have to foot the bill for the tower, but costs spiralled.