The production of medical isotopes requires a nuclear reactor facility. (CBC File)

The government of Saskatchewan Tuesday released its proposal for a Saskatoon-based nuclear reactor with a potential price tag of $500 million to $750 million.

The facility, which could open in 2016, would produce medical-grade isotopes and be used in scientific research.

Saskatchewan wants the federal government to cover 75 per cent of the construction cost and 60 per cent of the facility's ongoing operating costs.

The formal submission was given to federal officials last week.

A panel of experts is reviewing expressions of interest from across the country and is expected to report by Nov. 30 on options for production of medical isotopes that have been in short supply since May when Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. shut down its aging reactor at Chalk River, Ont.

Richard Florizone, a vice-president at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon who helped write the proposal, told reporters that a nuclear reactor in the province would provide a number of benefits to the scientific community.

"If you start producing isotopes here and you have the isotope processing facilities, you can now start exploring other types of isotopes for health, for health treatment, for research and development in health," Florizone said Tuesday. "So you could really see us regain some of our leadership position in the province around medical [research and development], specifically in nuclear medicine."

Saskatchewan's proposal, dubbed the Canadian Neutron Source, would be built on one of three possible sites on the University of Saskatchewan campus.