PARIS—French state-owned power utility Electricite de France SA late Thursday called a board meeting on July 28 to make a final decision on whether to go ahead with an £ 18 billion ($23.8 billion) nuclear power project in the U.K. despite the opposition from the company's labor unions.

The construction of two nuclear reactors in Hinkley Point, southwestern England, has the backing of the U.K. and France, which has a majority stake in EDF, but is waiting for the utility's board to sign off on the project.

The project would boost EDF's presence in the U.K., where it already operates 15 nuclear reactors.

The Hinkley Point project remains controversial, criticized in France by some senior EDF officials and labor unions who are worried about its impact on EDF's finances, and in the U.K. where some politicians and environment groups consider it too expensive and risky.

The six labor-union representatives sitting on EDF's 18-member board have repeatedly opposed the project.

Even though the U.K. government guaranteed EDF and its Chinese partner a price for the electricity generated by the reactors significantly above market prices, unions and several company officials have said the investment required would saddle EDF with too much debt.

EDF has delayed the final investment decision on the new nuclear power plant several times as it sought other partners to spread the costs and approval from the European Commission for U.K.-government financial support for the project.

The French government has backed the project and announced a cash injection of €3 billion ($3.3 billion) in EDF to help the company develop the project, which would lead to job creation in France and would buoy beleaguered state-owned nuclear firm Areva SA, which manufactures nuclear reactors.

Write to Inti Landauro at inti.landauro@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 22, 2016 03:55 ET (07:55 GMT)