An area in northern Switzerland near the border with Germany will be proposed as a site for a planned deep underground storage facility for nuclear waste, construction of which is due to start in 2045, Switzerland's Federal Office of Energy (BFE) said on Saturday, Reuters reported.

The so-called deep geological repository for spent nuclear fuel and other radioactive waste has yet to be approved by the government and parliament, a process that will take years.

The company behind the project, the National Cooperative for Radioactive Waste Disposal (Nagra), set up by nuclear power plant operators and the government, plans to propose the area north of Laegern, north of Zurich and close to the German border, said BFE spokeswoman Marianne Sünd.

There will be a press conference Monday to announce the proposed site, she added.