Luxembourg, 19/02/2003 (Agence Europe) - The European Investment Bank (EIB) is to loan 67 million euros to two projects to improve higher and secondary education in Ireland.
29 million euros will go into the design, construction, financing and management of the new National Maritime College in Ringaskiddy, County Cork. The college will foster civil knowledge in marine matters. With the capacity for 750 students, it will provide training for Irish and foreign seafarers on international regulatory standards. The project also includes a social dimension, as it allows the wider local and professional community the use of the buildings outside classroom hours. The loan was signed with FocusEducation (NMC) Ltd, a specialist in the field. The Irish Minister of Education and Science and the Cork Institute of Technology, the promoters of the project, awarded the concession contract, to cover a period of 26½ years, following an international call for tenders.
The EIB lent a further 38 million euros to part-finance the design, building, operation and maintenance of secondary schools in Ballincollig, Dunmanway, Shannon, Tubbercurry and Clones. The existing schools are among those identified by the promoter, the Irish Minister of Education and Science, as urgently requiring change to meet the needs of modern education. The concessionaire and beneficiary of the latter loan is the specialist Schools Public/Private Partnership (Ireland) Ltd, jointly owned by Barclays Infrastructure Ltd and Jarvis plc. The company was awarded a 26-year concession by the Irish Minister of Education and Science following an international call for tenders.