Britain's new Prime Minister Theresa May has decided to postpone the long-delayed Hinkley nuclear power project until the autumn season, BBC reported.

The government's decision to delay the $18 billion nuclear project was announced just hours before the official signing ceremony on Friday. The final hour delay has caught China by surprise, as the project is being partly financed by a Chinese consortium, while two third of the finance was to come from French energy firm EDF.

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According to reports in British Media, security concerns over Chinese ownership of British nuclear power stations may have led the newly appointed British Prime Minister to delay the project until later this year.

A higher official in the Chinese nuclear industry who was scheduled to attend the signing ceremony said: "We are really questioning what's going on. We were all set to go over when it was suddenly pushed back. It seems the UK government has a lot of doubts; we aren't sure where all this is coming from."

The EDF management has also been reportedly taken by surprise by Britain's decision. Some senior EDF officials were scheduled to fly to Somersault, but canceled their trip after learning about the untimely postponement.          

EDF's UK Chief Vincent de Rivaz has written a letter to his staff on the matter, saying that "We can understand their need to take a little time. We fully respect the prime minister's method." Jean-Bernard Lévy, chief executive of EDF, also expressed confidence that Britain's new prime minister would eventually give a go-ahead to the project.

China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN), part of the Chinese consortium, issued a statement on Friday, saying that it acknowledges new government's need to familiarize itself with the nuclear project as it pertains to Britain's future energy security.

However, GMB union national secretary for energy, Justin Bowden, criticized Theresa May's decision to delay the project. Bowden said that he fears delay may jeopardize the 25,000 jobs that this project was supposed to create.

Senior officials close to ex-Prime Minister David Cameroon are also reportedly miffed with the decision. One former Treasury official said that all the effort to bring Chinese and French companies to the table could be undone by the decision.

Another senior official said that this decision conveys a worrying perspective that China is inherently untrustworthy and could affect Chinese investments into the country.

TagsHinkley nuclear power project, China and UK, Theresa May, china, Chinese investors