Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva approved resuming the long-delayed project of the Angra 3 nuclear plant, local media reported Monday.

The president will participate in the next meeting of the National Energy Policy Council in June to consider the issue, Minister of Science and Technology Sergio Rezende was quoted as saying.

The Angra 3 project began in 1984 but halted because of financing problems and concerns over security and the viability of nuclear power.

The government has been discussing the resumption of the project since 2003, but talks were suspended in 2004, Rezende added.

The Angra 3 project requires an investment of 7.2 billion reais (3.67 billion U.S. dollars), and is expected to start operating in 2012.

Brazil's currently operating nuclear plants, Angra 1 and Angra 2, with an installed capacity of about 2,000 megawatts, in the south of Rio de Janeiro state, supports 1.5 percent of the country's energy consumption.

The operation of Angra 3 would raise the capacity to 3,300 megawatts, with up to 5 percent of energy consumption relying on nuclear power.