The UK government has confirmed plans to provide £170m (€197m, $218m) funding to support the construction of the Sizewell C nuclear power station in Suffolk, southeast England, backed by fresh measures aimed at speeding up preparations for the flagship nuclear power project.

The funding, which follows the official launch of the government body Great British Nuclear (GBN) last week, is being earmarked to further prepare the project’s construction site, secure essential components from its supply chain, and facilitate a larger workforce, according to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

At the peak of construction, it is estimated that the project to build two Generation III+ EPR nuclear plants developed by France’s EDF could support around 10,000 jobs nationwide, with supply chain plans for 70% of the value of construction contracts set to go to UK businesses, it said.

The government last year agreed to invest £700m to take a 50% stake in Sizewell C, which EDF has said it expects to cost around £20bn in total.