"Greenpeace demands that the construction of Olkiluoto 3 be halted. Nuclear power is inherently dangerous technology and this particular reactor lacks proper safety, public health and environmental impact analysis," Kaisa Kosonen of Greenpeace Finland told reporters.

The ecological organisation criticised Finland's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) for taking just 13 months, from January 2004 until February 2005, to evaluate the project before giving the green light.

"I find it surprising ... that Finland ... has pressed ahead and completed its assessment of the nuclear safety case within a year, compared to the seven to eight years required by the much larger and greatly more experienced" US regulatory authority, said John Large, who has written a report for Greenpeace on the issue.

His report implicitly accuses STUK of caving in to political and economic pressures.

A consortium grouping French nuclear energy group Areva and German engineering giant Siemens is to build the pressurized water reactor at the Olkiluoto plant.

The 1600 megawatt reactor is expected to become operational in 2009, at an estimated cost of three billion euros (3.72 billion dollars).

It will supplement four existing nuclear reactors which were built in the 1970s.

The highly controversial plans forced the departure of the Green Party from the previous left-right coalition government in Finland.

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