Tokyo Electric Power Co. presented a plan Friday to Mayor Masashi Sugiyama of Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, to build storage facilities there to hold up to 6,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel, Tepco officials said.

The plan calls for construction of two facilities near Sekinehama port in Mutsu, each capable of holding 3,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel for 50 years until the fuel is removed for reprocessing.

Tepco hopes to have the first of the two facilities in service by 2010 before building the second one. The construction cost for the whole project would be about 100 billion yen, according to the officials.

"We will decide whether to approve the site based on conclusions from the city assembly and residents," Sugiyama said.

Initially, the city considered limiting the storage to Tepco's spent fuel alone, but the utility proposed in February that it also allow spent fuel from other electric power companies to be stored at the facilities.

Tepco will store about 4,000 tons of its own spent fuel, with the remaining capacity expected to be shared with one to two other utilities, the company officials said.

Japan Atomic Power Co. has already requested joint use of the storage and Tepco is expecting participation from Sendai-based Tohoku Electric Power Co.

If the city approves the plan, Tepco and participating power companies would set up a business unit to build and operate the facilities, the officials said.

Tepco told the Mutsu Municipal Government on April 3 that a study it conducted at the proposed site showed that construction of the storage facilities is technically feasible.