The Tribune

THE Government is preparing to construct state-of-the-art primary and secondary schools on 20 acres of land in San Salvador, with construction set to begin this summer.

Philip Davis, the Minister of Works and Urban Development, told Parliamentarians in his Budget Communication on Tuesday that work has already begun on clearing the site where the two new schools will be built in Harbour Yard.

“The current primary school is located on a temporary site and uses four trailers to accommodate school facilities. During the passage of Hurricane Joaquin, three of those four trailers were severely damaged as were other parts of the school,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

“The current site also lacks an integrated functionality, as all of the buildings were stand-alone and presented mobility challenges during adverse weather.”

The primary school will replace the current school in Cockburn Town. It will include a computer room to accommodate 25 students, each with dedicated workspace and laptop; a library; a music room; art room; a sick bay; study rooms and sports facilities for basketball, softball, track and field and tennis.

The primary school has a complement of 100 students. It is anticipated that the new school will be able to double its capacity and boast special features such as connected, covered walkways to all classrooms and building spaces; roof finishes of architectural shingles; and hurricane resistant windows and doors, Mr Davis said.

A contract for this project is expected to be executed within the next two weeks.