UK government approves Hinkley Point nuclear project
The British government said Thursday it was giving the green light to a controversial new nuclear project at Hinkley Point after Prime Minister Theresa May ordered a review.
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"Having thoroughly reviewed the proposals for Hinkley Point C, we will introduce a series of measures to enhance security and will ensure Hinkley cannot change hands without the government's agreement," Business Secretary Greg Clark said in a statement.
"Consequently, we have decided to proceed with the first new nuclear power station for a generation".
A separate government statement said there had been a "revised agreement with EDF" and that new laws would be introduced to govern future foreign investment in critical British infrastructure. "Existing legal powers, and the new legal framework, will mean that the government is able to intervene in the sale of EDF's stake once Hinkley is operational," the statement added.
May called French President Francois Hollande on Wednesday evening to tell him that the British government had approved the project, the French presidency said.
The board of French state-owned power company EDF approved its participation in the project in southwest England on 28 July, only for Britain's new government under May to announce hours later that it wanted to review it.
China has a one-third stake in Hinkley Point, and analysts have warned that Britain would have risked its relations with the world's second-largest economy if it cancelled the costly deal.
The Hinkley Point project in Britain is one of the world's most costly nuclear power plant projects. Critics of the deal have expressed fear that it could bankrupt the French utility. EDF's directors had been deeply divided over the planned construction.
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