diff --git a/{{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}/CMakeLists.txt b/{{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}/CMakeLists.txt
index 63bfab6..32a7ae3 100644
--- a/{{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}/CMakeLists.txt	
+++ b/{{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}/CMakeLists.txt	
@@ -55,13 +55,13 @@ set(
 {% if cookiecutter.parallelization == "coarray" -%}
 set(
   {{cookiecutter.__project_slug_upper}}_COARRAY_COMPILE_FLAGS
-  ""
+  "-coarray"
   CACHE STRING
   "{{cookiecutter.project_name}}: Extra flags to use for compiling coarray source files"
 )
 set(
   {{cookiecutter.__project_slug_upper}}_COARRAY_LINK_FLAGS
-  ""
+  "-coarray"
   CACHE STRING
   "{{cookiecutter.project_name}}: Extra flags to use for linking coarray object files"
 )
diff --git a/{{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}/cmake/{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}Helpers.cmake b/{{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}/cmake/{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}Helpers.cmake
index 92166d5..a4701ef 100644
--- a/{{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}/cmake/{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}Helpers.cmake	
+++ b/{{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}/cmake/{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}Helpers.cmake	
@@ -21,31 +21,32 @@ endfunction ()
 
 
 {% if cookiecutter.__coarray_code == "True" -%}
-# Applies coarray build flags to the target
-function ({{cookiecutter.project_slug}}_add_coarray_build_flags target)
+# Creates the target CoarrayBuildInterface with coarray build options
+function ({{cookiecutter.project_slug}}_create_coarray_build_target)
 
   if (NOT TARGET CoarrayBuildInterface)
-    if ({{cookiecutter.__project_slug_upper}}_COARRAY_COMPILE_FLAGS)
-      set(_coarray_compile_flags "${{'{'}}{{cookiecutter.__project_slug_upper}}_coarray_compile_flags}")
-    elseif (CMAKE_Fortran_COMPILER_ID STREQUAL "IntelLLVM")
-      set(_coarray_compile_flags "-coarray")
-    elseif (CMAKE_Fortran_COMPILER_ID STREQUAL "NAG")
-      set(_coarray_compile_flags "-coarray")
-    endif ()
-
-    if ({{cookiecutter.__project_slug_upper}}_COARRAY_LINK_FLAGS)
-      set(_coarray_link_flags "${{'{'}}{{cookiecutter.__project_slug_upper}}_COARRAY_LINK_FLAGS}")
-    elseif (CMAKE_Fortran_COMPILER_ID STREQUAL "IntelLLVM")
-      set(_coarray_link_flags "-coarray")
-    elseif (CMAKE_Fortran_COMPILER_ID STREQUAL "NAG")
-      set(_coarray_link_flags "-coarray")
-    endif ()
-
     add_library(CoarrayBuildInterface INTERFACE)
-    target_compile_options(CoarrayBuildInterface INTERFACE ${_coarray_compile_flags})
-    target_link_options(CoarrayBuildInterface INTERFACE ${_coarray_link_flags})
+    target_compile_options(
+      CoarrayBuildInterface INTERFACE
+      ${{'{'}}{{cookiecutter.__project_slug_upper}}_COARRAY_COMPILE_FLAGS}
+    )
+    target_link_options(
+      CoarrayBuildInterface INTERFACE
+      ${{'{'}}{{cookiecutter.__project_slug_upper}}_COARRAY_LINK_FLAGS}
+    )
   endif ()
 
+endfunction ()
+
+
+# Applies coarray build flags to a target
+function ({{cookiecutter.project_slug}}_add_coarray_build_flags target)
+
+  {{cookiecutter.project_slug}}_create_coarray_build_target()
+
+  # TODO: Delete first branch once cmake minimum version is 3.26 or above
+  # Older CMake versions have problems during installation if the CoarrayBuildInterface target is
+  # linked directly with any target, therefore applying a workaround.
   if (CMAKE_VERSION VERSION_LESS 3.26)
     get_target_property(_compile_flags CoarrayBuildInterface INTERFACE_COMPILE_OPTIONS)
     if (_compile_flags)