RPT-Hitachi freezes British nuclear project, books $2.8 bln hit

Japan's Hitachi Ltd said on Thursday it has decided to freeze a 3 trillion yen ($28 billion) British nuclear power project and will consequently book a writedown of 300 billion yen ($2.75 billion) on its British nuclear unit. The suspension comes as Hitachi's Horizon Nuclear Power failed to find private investors for its plans to build a plant in Anglesey, Wales, which promised to provide about 6 percent of Britain's electricity. Hitachi had called on the British government to boost financial support for the project to appease investor anxiety, but turmoil over the country's impending exit from the European Union limited the government's capacity to compile plans, people close to the matter previously said. ($1 = 108.9300 yen)