30 April 2004
Northern Ireland's largest school-building programme has been launched with the investment of £222m to replace and rebuild 43 schools.
Most of the projects will be via conventional procurement, with 12 undertaken through public-private partnerships.
Education Minister Barry Gardiner said: 'By 2010, we will have addressed the existing known capital needs backlog on the schools estate.'
He added that continuing the rebuilding programme would require the bringing together of a range of schools across different types of local arrangements, in order to achieve scale and realistic contract sizes. Catholic schools are publicly funded, but have different management systems from state schools.
Gardiner said that the programme was a direct benefit of UK government policy to address Northern Ireland's infrastructural deficit.
He said: 'As a result of the government's reinvestment and reform initiative, we are ready to bring together the commitment and vision of those who run schools in the state and voluntary sectors with the skills and capital of the private sector.'
PFapr2004
