Russia will insert most of the country's leading nuclear energy enterprises into a new state-owned holding company, the Atomenergoprom, in a bid to sharpen competitiveness in the industry.

The new holding will cover the entire industrial chain ranging from nuclear fuel production to building, operation and abolishing of nuclear power plants, the Itar-Tass news agency said Friday, citing a source from the Federal Atomic Energy Agency.

The new company will be completed next January and 55 enterprises will be included in the holding by December 1, Itar-Tass said, citing the unnamed source.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree early Friday on the reconstruction of the country's nuclear industry and establishment of the new joint stock company, which will be whollyowned by the government.

The company is also allowed to operate other kinds of power generating facilities, including hydropower plants, Itar-Tass said.