The Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited the construction sites of the 5th Primary School under construction in the Municipality of Abelokipon Menemeni and the 32nd High School in the Municipality of Thessaloniki and was informed by the mayors about the school housing programme being implemented in the city, both through the PPP and NSRF programme and through other financial instruments.

“I have stressed it many times, there are very important projects taking place in the region,” the Prime Minister said, noting: “Seventeen new schools are being built in the Region of Central Macedonia, most of which are in Western Thessaloniki through the Public-Private Partnership scheme. We are visiting one of them today – the 5th Primary School, here in the Municipality of Ampelokipoi Menemeni”. As he added, it is “a state-of-the-art school, bioclimatic, fully accessible, with a multi-purpose hall”, which “will replace a building that was constructed in 1972 and is obviously totally unsuitable now.”

Mr. Mitsotakis referred in particular to the maintenance of the school under construction, which is guaranteed for 25 years by the PPP, which “will not be borne by the Municipality, but by the developer, the concessionaire of this project.”

“I think this is just a small indication of the great care we are showing especially for Western Thessaloniki,” the Prime Minister stressed, referring further to the swimming complex project, which will be built at the camp of Megalo Alexandrou. “It is a benchmark project mainly for the youth of Western Thessaloniki and I don’t think there is a better investment than investment in sports infrastructure,” he said.

“What we are doing here in Central Macedonia comes and complements a school building program. We saw before another school, a high school which is being built with funding through the Ant. Tritsis by the Municipality of Thessaloniki – and of course I should also mention the Marietta Giannakou programme, where 430 schools were reconstructed last year and we have secured funding for three more years – over 300 million euros – which will reconstruct a number of schools that are in need of major interventions, whether we are talking about accessibility, sanitary facilities or sports facilities in the courtyards”, the Prime Minister explained.

The Prime Minister was given a tour of the construction site by the Mayor of Ampelokipi Menemeni Lazaros Kyrizoglou, who invited him, on the occasion of his presence at the TIF in September, to visit the municipality again for the opening of the 5th Primary School and the foundation of the swimming complex.

“The 5th Elementary School of Ampelokipi will open on September 11, in the upcoming school year. It replaces an old – 55 years old heavy prefabricated – primary school,” Kyrizoglou said, thanking the Prime Minister “for the approval of the credit and the start of the construction of the new swimming complex at the camp of our municipality, Great Alexandros, with a budget of 32 million euros, and for the two hospitals that were launched […] projects for the balanced development of the urban complex of Thessaloniki.”

“The city has changed and it’s visible to the naked eye”

The Prime Minister’s visit to the under-construction 32nd Lyceum of Thessaloniki, in the area of Trochiodromika, was preceded by the Mayor of Thessaloniki, Stelios Angeloudis, who informed him about the progress of the construction works of the school.

In his conversation with the mayor, the Prime Minister remarked that “the city has changed quite a bit – and this is visible – I think – to the naked eye.”

“The infrastructure of schools is of particular importance. The combination of the interventions we are making – the Marietta Giannakou programme, which will be extended for the next three years , the previous financial instruments, such as the Antonis Tritsis programme here, and the new schools being built through the Public-Private Partnership, show that we are investing in the school roof. And because Thessaloniki also has an old history with the old buildings that date back decades, it is good to leave them in the past,” the Prime Minister stressed.

Mr. Angeloudis informed Mr. Mitsotakis that the Municipality’s planning for the current period concerns 11 schools, of which six will be new and the rest will be upgraded in terms of energy through NSRF, while through the Marietta Giannakou programme, where the Municipality of Thessaloniki has included 13 schools for upgrading, six schools have already been renovated and by the summer the work will be completed in the rest. She informed him, finally, about the plan to demolish three abandoned school buildings from the period after the great earthquake of 1978 (the first one, the former Intercultural High School in Ethn. Defence was demolished yesterday), in place of which new school buildings will be erected next year.

The Prime Minister was accompanied on his visits to schools by the Deputy Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports Nikos Papaioannou, the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Nikos Tachias, the Deputy Minister of Development Stavros Kalafatis, the Deputy Minister of Interior (Macedonia and Thrace sector) Konstantinos, as well as party MPs. During the visit to Ampelokipi, the Prime Minister spoke with citizens and students with whom he had a rhyme and dance about football, commenting that “no prediction can be made, we have a very competitive league this year, the best will win.”

The schools under construction visited by the Prime Minister

The 32nd High School building will occupy a total area of 2,700 square meters that will include twelve classrooms and modern school facilities, accommodating 240 students. This is a 5.7 million euro project, which is expected to be completed within a year from today.

The school facility will have ancillary spaces of around 645 sqm. and will include 12 classrooms on the ground floor and the first floor, with a total capacity of 240 students, special science, computer and art laboratories on the second floor, offices, secretariat and archive area, library – reading room, gym and multipurpose room, landscaped surroundings with plantings, outdoor courts and a gym shed, parking spaces.

The construction of the 5th Elementary School of Ampelokipi is part of the project “Design, Construction, Financing, Maintenance and Operation of Seventeen School Units in the Region of Central Macedonia through PPP”, with a total budget of 159.216.000 euros. The contractor of the project (MC – the investment arm of METLEN Energy & Metals in the field of PPP & Concessions projects) undertakes for 25 years the obligation to maintain and guard these schools, so that they are always kept in excellent working condition. These are modern, bioclimatic schools, which will house a total of 5,000 students in 9 municipalities of Central Macedonia.

In all the school units there will be Multipurpose Rooms, for which a special study has been carried out on the acoustics. They will have a state-of-the-art projection system with sound consoles, microphone and projection equipment, which can be used for artistic and sporting activities, both by the educational community and the local community. The laboratories will be fully equipped with all the necessary infrastructure and equipment to meet the specific needs of each School Unit. The School Units will be fully equipped with new desks, desks, desks, chairs, libraries, seating, interactive whiteboards, etc.

The 17 schools through PPP

The 17 school units under construction, with a total gross floor area of 50602 sqm, are:

-7th Kindergarten Pefkon in the Municipality of Neapolis Sikeon (540 sq.m, two classrooms)

-4th Pefkon Primary School in the Municipality of Neapolis Sikeon (3009 sqm, 12 seats)

-1o EPAL Sikeon in the Municipality of Neapolis Sikeon (7808sq.m, 650 students)

-Eukarpia EL in the Municipality of Pavlou Mela (2784sq.m, 12 students)

-4th Elementary School of Evkarpia in the Municipality of Pavlos Melas (1602 sq.m, 9 seats)

-3rd High School of Polychni in the Municipality of Pavlou Mela (2784 sq.m, 12 classrooms)

-1o Lyceum of Polichni in the Municipality of Pavlou Mela (2501 sq.m., 12 seats)

-2nd High School of Lagada in the Municipality of Lagada (2661sq.m, 12 seats)

-3rd Gymnasium of Oraiokastro in the Municipality of Oraiokastro (2849 sq.m., 12 seats)

-6th Primary School of Oraiokastro in the Municipality of Oraiokastro (2090 sq.m., 9 seats)

-1o GEL Mikra in the Municipality of Thermi (2784 sq.m., 12-seat)

-5th Elementary School of Ampelokipi in the Municipality of Ampelokipi-Menemeni (3009 sq.m., 12 seats)

-Special Primary School & Special Kindergarten of Kalamaria in the Municipality of Kalamaria (1921 sq.m., 140 pupils)

-3rd Gymnasium of Pylaia in the Municipality of Pylaia Hortiatis (2866 sq.m., 12 students)

-3rd Lyceum of Pylaia Hortiatis in the Municipality of Pylaia Hortiatis (2932 sq.m., 12 seats)

-3rd Primary School of Panorama in the Municipality of Pylaia-Hortiatis (2226sq.m , 12 seats)

-Music High School Katerini in the Municipality of Katerini (6236sq.m, 380 students)