PARIS (AFX) - The construction by Areva unit Framatome of a European Pressurised Water nuclear reactor in Finland is running nine months behind schedule, the Financial Times reported.

The delay in the only nuclear reactor being built in the EU was confirmed by the company in charge of the 3 bln eur project, the report said, without specifying its source.

The Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power project was supposed to be finished in 2009 but problems with manufacturing components and preparing the site mean that it is not likely to be operational until 2010, according to the newspaper.

There are already two older technology nuclear reactors at Olkiluoto, on the shores of the Gulf of Bothnia, 250 km north west of Helsinki, the FT said.

Olkiluoto 3 is owned by Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO), a non-profit power group whose owners include several paper and packaging companies and the City of Helsinki.

Framatome is 66 pct owned by Areva and 34 pct by Siemens AG.

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