LONDON

The British government has agreed to a final investment decision to give the Sizewell C nuclear plant the go-ahead, according to an official statement issued on Tuesday.

The government has approved a multibillion-pound deal for Sizewell C, which will provide clean power to the equivalent of six million homes, according to a statement from the Department for Energy Security.

According to the statement, the cost of construction is around £38 billion (some $51 billion), which Canadian pension fund La Caisse, UK energy firm Centrica, and Amber Infrastructure will jointly fund.

"The deal represents the country’s most significant public investment in clean, homegrown energy this century—a major boost for energy security, jobs and economic growth," it added.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: "It is time to do big things and build big projects in this country again—and today we announce an investment that will provide clean, homegrown power to millions of homes for generations to come."

The government confirmed that it will take an initial 44.9% stake, becoming the single largest equity shareholder in the project. In comparison, La Caisse will have 20%, Centrica 15%, and Amber Infrastructure an initial 7.6%.

This comes alongside French energy giant EDF taking a 12.5% stake in the project, set out earlier this month, as well as a proposed £5 billion ($6.7 billion) debt guarantee from France’s export credit agency, Bpifrance Assurance Export, to back the company’s commercial bank loans.

"La Caisse, Centrica and Amber’s multibillion-pound investment is a powerful endorsement of the UK as the best place to do business and as a global hub for nuclear energy," Treasury chief Rachel Reeves said in the statement.