Japan, Hitachi to stump up $8.5 billion for Horizon nuclear project in Wales - source

By Takaya Yamaguchi TOKYO (Reuters) - The Japanese government and a Hitachi Ltd unit will compile a package worth around 1 trillion yen (6.78 billion pounds) for a UK nuclear power plant project, a government official involved in the project said on Thursday. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation and the Development Bank of Japan will provide financing for the project, the official told Reuters. The funding plans are a boost for the project, one of several new nuclear plants planned in the UK, which is aiming to replacing its ageing fleet of atomic reactors. Hitachi's Horizon unit plans to construct at least 5.4 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity across two sites in Britain. The funds will be provided for the first plant planned at Wylfa Newydd in Wales. The Nikkei newspaper said Hitachi would invest about 10 percent of the expected 19 billion pounds cost of the project. A Hitachi official declined to comment, saying the amount has not been announced. (Additional reporting by Kentaro Hamada; Writing by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)