Dudchenko, who said Energoatom was financing construction works from its profits, gave no details.

"Of course, this financing is not within the desired volumes, but work does not stop," he said.

The two new reactors are important for Ukraine, because their launch will allow the closure of the ex-Soviet state's Chernobyl power plant, one of whose four reactors exploded in 1986, sending huge clouds of radioactive dust across Europe.

Ukraine says the G-7 group of the world's leading industrialised nations and the European Bank have come up so far with only $190 million out of a promised $800-900 million in funds for Ukraine to close the troubled plant by 2000.

"I think there will be no financing by the European Bank," a pessimistic Dudchenko said. He said Chernobyl's closure could not happen by 2000 as provisionally agreed with the West.

Prime Minister Valery Pustovoitenko, who is visiting the southern Kherson region, also told reporters earlier on Tuesday that "Chernobyl's closure by 2000 is problematic".

He said Ukraine would be able to launch the two new reactors to replace lost capacity at Chernobyl by the end of 2000.

In line with Energoatom data, Rivne and Khmelnitska stations are already 80 to 90 percent ready.

Ukraine heavily relies on its 14 working nuclear reactors. Last year the country's five nuclear stations accounted for 75.2 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, or 43.5 percent of all electricity output.