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Hinkley: A decade of delays and rising costs

Plans to build a new nuclear power station date back a decade but have seen repeated delays and a surge in the expected cost.

:: May 2006. Tony Blair says new nuclear power is back on the agenda "with a vengeance".

Two months later an energy review concludes that "new nuclear power stations would make a significant contribution to meeting our energy goals".

The review prompts a further consultation, in which France's EDF (Paris: FR0010242511 - news) puts forward Hinkley Point in Somerset as a potential site for a plant.

:: February 2007. EDF boss Vincent de Rivaz says Britain would be cooking Christmas turkeys using new nuclear power in 2017.

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:: October 2008. Exhibitions are held in the area near the site to set out early plans for the plant. These are followed by a series of formal consultations.

:: March 2011. The Fukushima nuclear meltdown in Japan - the worst since Chernobyl - shakes confidence in the future of nuclear power.

:: November- December 2012. UK regulators clear plans for the site and reactor at Hinkley Point C.

:: March 2013. Ed Davey, Energy Secretary in the Coalition government, gives planning permission for Hinkley. The cost of the plant is at this stage thought to be about £14bn.

:: October 2013. Ministers agree a guaranteed "strike price" of £92.50 for every megawatt hour of electricity produced by Hinkley. Critics warn the price is too high.

:: May 2014. Preparatory works begin at the site.

:: October 2014. The European Commission gives the go-ahead for the plant.

:: February 2015. EDF reveals that a long-awaited final investment decision on Hinkley is still some months away.

:: October 2015. China signs a deal to back the project, taking a 33.5% stake in Hinkley.

EDF says its final investment decision will come in weeks.

Construction costs are now estimated at £18bn.

:: March 2016. EDF finance director Thomas Piquemal quits, apparently because of concerns the cost of the project will jeopardise the company's financial situation.

Mr de Rivaz says the project "will go ahead" but will not be drawn on an exact date.

He tells MPs (BSE: MPSLTD.BO - news) that EDF has invested £2.4bn in the project so far and is continuing to spend £55m a month.

:: May 2016. EDF admits the total liabilities for backing the project could rise to £21bn.

:: July 2016. The EDF board votes to proceed with the project, with operations set to begin at the end of 2025.

But new Prime Minister Theresa May unexpectedly delays the deal

:: Theresa May decision expected this week