A FINAL decision on funding the controversial Hinkley Point C nuclear plant will now be taken in September at the earliest, it was revealed by French economy minister Emmanuel Macron this week.

And the four-month delay casts fresh doubts on whether the £18 billion project will be completed on time in 2025.

Last month, the French Government said the station’s finances would finally be in place in May and last Friday it was announced that a financial bail-out for developer EDF had been agreed with the French state, its major shareholder

This involved raising £4 billion as part of a restructuring programme to make it possible to go ahead with a strategic investment plan for Hinkley C.

But this week came the bombshell announcement from M Macron that EDF had agreed a 60-day consultation with unions hostile to the project to discuss costs and safety.

This implied a delay until late June, but M Macron has now said the final investment decision is not likely to be before September at the earliest.

In a statement, EDF said that “significant recapitalisation would see the French government put in three billion euros as part of a four billion euro rights issue, which would make it possible to proceed with Hinkley Point.

It added that the consultation with the unions would be concluded “this summer”.

A UK Department of Energy spokesman said: “The final investment decision is a commercial matter for EDF but the UK Government and EDF are both clear that Hinkley will go ahead.”