"We will support the building of two nuclear power plants," Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen told reporters after a cabinet session.

Three utility groups -- Teollisuuden Voima (TVO), Fennovoima and Fortum -- each applied for a permit to build a new reactor, and Vanhanen said TVO and Fennovoima would be given the green light.

Parliament still needs to approve the permits, and the government proposal would be presented for debate on May 6 at earliest, according to Economic Affairs Minister Mauri Pekkarinen, who drafted the plan.

Finland's four existing nuclear reactors were built in the 1970s, and a fifth unit, a 1,600-megawatt third-generation reactor, is being built on TVO's site in southwestern Finland by France's Areva and Germany's Siemens in a project plagued by delays and ballooning costs.

Ahead of Wednesday's meeting, where Vanhanen said the proposal was voted through "by a clear government majority", Finland's coalition cabinet appeared split on the issue that has generated heated debate in Finland.

While Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen and others in his Centre Party had said Finland's future energy needs did not require all three new proposed reactors, the National Coalition Party favoured granting all three permits, and the Green League opposed the building of any new units.

Following the announcement, Finance Minister Jyrki Katainen of the National Coalition Party said the government decision to grant the two permits sent "a strong message from Finland that we will be an industrial country also in the future", emphasising the employment benefits of the projected projects.

Recent polls, however, indicate that opposition to nuclear power is rising among Finns, with opponents pointing to risks related to accidents and the handling and storage of nuclear waste.

Labour Minister Anni Sinnemaeki of the Green League fell into this category, saying the proposal, which she opposed, "was a disappointment", and insisting Finland's energy needs would be best secured through energy efficiency measures and renewables.

As part of its overall energy package, the government on Tuesday outlined plans for boosting the use of renewables, including wood and wind power, in a bid to meet European Union requirements on slashing greenhouse gas emissions.

Fennovoima, whose owners include numerous Finnish companies and the Nordic arm of German electricity group E.ON, is a newcomer to Finland's nuclear landscape and wants to build its plant either in Simo or Phyhaejoki on Finland's western coast.

The government said its decision to support Fennovoima's application was based on the increasing competition it would bring to the market and the consortium's plans to produce electricity at cost price for its owners, thus supporting Finnish industry.

TVO already operates two nuclear power reactors in Olkiluoto in southwestern Finland and has commissioned the building of what is slated to become the world's first third-generation pressurised water reactor.

While the permit application of majority state-owned utility Fortum was rejected, the company, which operates two reactors in Loviisa in southeastern Finland, owns a major chunk of TVO.

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