EDF has raised on Wednesday its estimate of the costs of the proposed nuclear power station Hinkley Point C in Britain. In a press release, the group states that the costs at completion of the project are now estimated to be between 21.5 and 22.5 billion pounds sterling (between 24,2 and 25.3 billion euros), an increase of between 1.9 and 2.9 billion pounds sterling (from 2.14 and 3,27 billion euro) compared to the previous assessments.

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These additional costs, says EDF, is the result mainly of the difficult soil conditions that render the work of excavation more expensive than expected. The group also refers to the revision of the objectives of operational plans and "additional costs associated with the implementation of the functional design of the head of a series adapted to the regulatory context british".

EDF added that the project has met with success, last June, a milestone in key, the completion of the basemat of the nuclear island of unit no. 1, "according to the schedule announced in September 2016".

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The next milestone - the completion of the basemat of the unit n°2 - is confirmed for June 2020. The risk of postponement of the delivery of the units 1 and 2 previously communicated (15 and 9 months, respectively) has increased, adds EDF. But the objective fact remains that the unit no. 1 of the plant began producing electricity in late 2025.