The government has given the final go-ahead for a £38bn nuclear power plant in eastern England.

The Sizewell C project in Suffolk will be jointly funded by Canadian pension fund La Caisse, UK energy firm Centrica and Amber Infrastructure.

The Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) said Sizewell C will deliver clean power for the equivalent of six million homes, as well as support 10,000 jobs and create 1,500 apprenticeships once it is operational, which is expected to be in the 2030s.

The government will be the largest shareholder in the project with a 44.9% stake. La Caisse will hold a 20% stake, Centrica 15% and Amber Infrastructure will take an initial 7.6%.

Earlier this month, French energy giant EDF announced it was taking a 12.5% stake, lower than its previously stated 16.2% ownership.

Sizewell C was initially proposed by EDF and China General Nuclear Power Group in the early 2010s, but in 2022 the Conservative government bought the Chinese company out.

The cost of construction was forecast to be around £20bn by EDF five years ago.

DESNZ said the cost is around 20% cheaper than the development of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: "It is time to do big things and build big projects in this country again - and today we announce an investment that will provide clean, homegrown power to millions of homes for generations to come.

"This government is making the investment needed to deliver a new golden age of nuclear, so we can end delays and free us from the ravages of the global fossil fuel markets to bring bills down for good."

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: "La Caisse, Centrica and Amber's multibillion-pound investment is a powerful endorsement of the UK as the best place to do business and as a global hub for nuclear energy.

"Delivering next generation, publicly owned clean power is vital to our energy security and growth, which is why we backed Sizewell C."

Alison Downes of campaign group Stop Sizewell C said: "This much-delayed final investment decision has only crawled over the line thanks to guarantees that the public purse, not private investors, will carry the can for the inevitable cost overruns.

"Even so, UK households will soon be hit with a new Sizewell C construction tax on their energy bills. It is astounding that it is only now, as contracts are being signed, that the government has confessed that Sizewell C's cost has almost doubled to an eye-watering £38bn - a figure that will only go up. Given that ministers claimed not to recognise the cost was close to £40bn is there any wonder there is so little trust in this project?"

The government considers nuclear power to be an increasingly important energy source as it seeks to decarbonise Britain's energy grid by 2030.

The last time Britain completed a nuclear plant was the Sizewell B plant in 1987.