Construction has officially begun on the new Athlone Community College building.
On Monday this week, Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn welcomed the start of construction of eight schools across the country, including the long-awaited new building for Athlone Community College.
The new school building, which will be located on the site of the existing school, will cater for 1,000 students. The school is being delivered under the Public Private Partnership (PPP ) model.
The Government’s securing of a loan of €50 million through the European Investment Bank (EIB ) meant these new schools can now proceed to construction.
Speaking as he announced the commencement of construction on the eight schools, Minister Quinn said: “This is very good news for the communities who have been waiting for their school building projects to be given the green light.
“I am particularly pleased that the EIB has again decided to support the Department’s schools capital investment programme with a loan of €50 million which will assist in funding this investment.”
Earlier this year, Minister Quinn unveiled a five-year Schools Capital Programme worth €1.5 billion. This will see a total of 275 major school buildings projects commenced between now and 2016.
