New Glacis school to be completed by May 2015 |29 October 2014

Construction work on the new primary school at Glacis is expected to be completed by May next year, the Minister for Land Use and Housing Christian Lionnet has announced.

The minister made the announcement yesterday during a ceremony organised by the Chinese contractor responsible for the construction of the school, China Shengyan Corporation, to mark the completion of the building’s main structure, as per Chinese tradition.

Several people pitched in to pour the last remaining amount of concrete to complete the main structure. They included Minister Lionnet himself; Yves Choppy, principal secretary for project planning and implementation in the Ministry of Land Use and Housing; Odile Octave, director for schools; Jim Moncherry, Glacis district administrator; Charles Confait, director general for infrastructure and resource planning in the Ministry of Education; Vivienne Prea, the head teacher of Glacis primary school before it closed down for reconstruction; and Jiang Changchun, managing director of the China Shengyang Corporation.

Minister Lionnet explained that the delay with the project has been due to “certain unforeseen factors” such as big rocks found wThe ceremonial action to mark the completion of work on the school’s main structure

hile doing the foundation.

He noted that the school will have 12 primary classes and 6 crèches, as well as other specialised classrooms such as for art, music and a dental room which is a norm for the Ministry of Education.

Speaking to the press, PS Choppy said people who were living in the ex-police houses nearby had to be re-housed so that the land they were occupying is used as playing field for the children.

“We have done this after realising that the space around the school is limited for the children to play and as we know playing is an integral part of a child’s development,” he said.

He also noted that as access to a small cemetery behind the school was through the school’s premises, there will be a temporary access to the cemetery on the occasion of the forthcoming All Saint’s Day.

Later on, a separate access will be built.