A French consortium bidding to build nuclear reactors in Abu Dhabi will be led by electricity group EDF after last minute adjustments to quell local doubts, Les Echos reported.

The team was initially set to be led by Areva, GDF Suez and Total but EDF was called upon to lead the group after doubts from local authorities, the paper said, without saying where it got the information.

Les Echos said EDF's board of directors met on Tuesday to work out a new plan.

The idea is to form a consortium in charge of work on the reactors, of which EDF and GDF Suez, whose board meets on Wednesday, would each hold 45 percent and Total 10 percent.

The consortium would not be expected to invest as part of this plan, being paid for their services instead.

The paper said EDF had never considered the contract strategic altogether the contracts could be worth over $40 billion but now found itself leading the bid. A spokeswoman for EDF declined to comment.

Other bidders include a consortium comprised of General Electric and Japan's Hitachi and another around Korea Electric Power Corp. - Reuters