Plans to complete the construction of two unfinished blocks at the Khmelnitski nuclear power station in Ukraine will make use of financing options that do not include “getting into the pockets of the taxpayers”, Hartmut Jakob, vice-president of state nuclear operator Energoatom said.

Mr Jakob said in an article posted online that there are a number of methods that can be used either alone or in different combinations to finance the Khmelnitski project, the cost of which has been put at $2.7bn.

He said funds need to be found, but they do not need to come from the state budget. Investment could be clawed back from a surcharge on the cost of a nuclear kilowatt-hour or by raising income from the export of Ukrainian nuclear energy to countries in Europe. Other options include bank lending and vendor finance.