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Electricite de France SA Chief Executive Officer Jean-Bernard Levy is presenting a plan restore skills of the French nuclear industry as it seeks approval to build new atomic plants after a series of damaging delays, cost overruns and technical failings.

The utility will spend 100 million euros ($112 million) on initiatives including the creation of centers to train highly skilled welders, because the industry doesn’t have enough of them, Levy said on Radio Classique Friday.

The industry will also need to standardize best practices across projects, including using more digital tools. EDF will appoint a person in charge of quality within its top staff, he said.

The French government, which owns 83.5% of the world’s largest operator of nuclear power plants, in October asked for a turnaround plan for the industry, as it ponders whether to build new atomic plants to replace some of EDF’s aging power stations.

EDF is working on a proposal to build six new EPR nuclear reactors in France and will be able to provide the government with the required information to make a decision on whether to proceed in mid-2021, Levy said.

EDF is reeling from setbacks that have wiped almost a third from its share price this year. Its flagship Flamanville reactor project in France is years behind schedule and way over budget, with signs that a similar project in the U.K. is also running into trouble.

Revelations about substandard manufacturing of equipment at existing plants have also tarnished the French nuclear industry’s reputation in recent years.

To contact the reporter on this story: Francois de Beaupuy in Paris at fdebeaupuy@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Herron at jherron9@bloomberg.net, Christopher Sell

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