HELSINKI (Reuters) - The planned start-up of a proposed Finnish-Russian nuclear reactor in western Finland has been pushed back by four years to 2028 as more time is needed to secure the project's licenses.
"The goal is to receive the construction licence and to start the construction of the plant in 2021. Accordingly, the commercial operation of the plant would begin in 2028," the consortium behind the project, Fennovoima, said in a statement.
A delay had been expected due to Fennovoima's problems in submitting documents to the Finnish nuclear safety authority.
The consortium includes Russian state nuclear company Rosatom, whose involvement has raised concerns in Finland about Russia's influence in the country.
The Finnish parliament, however, approved the project to build the 1.2-gigawatt reactor, which is expected to cost 6.5 billion to 7 billion euros ($7.5 billion-$8 billion), to boost domestic energy production.
The consortium also includes Finnish power company Fortum and stainless steel maker Outokumpu, among other companies.
(Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl; Editing by Dale Hudson)