The two project amount to €362 million combined, with the majority reserved for the expansion of the Bonnevoie high school. For the former Bonnevoie Technical High School (LTB), the costs amount to €303.3 million with a projected construction time of five years. The Chamber unanimously approved the project on Wednesday morning.
The new building will be welcoming 2,150 students on a 3.8-hectare site. It will feature 25 new classrooms for upper grades and six specialised rooms, along with amenities such as a cafeteria for 600 people, a new administrative area, a library, a music studio, and an atrium. Additionally, there will be a new gymnasium and a swimming pool, as outlined by project rapporteur Corinne Cahen of the Dmocratic Party (DP) in the Chamber. The whole site will be car-free.
Currently, the majority of the high school’s 1,500 students are accommodated in temporary structures. Despite the addition of temporary facilities since 2015, there has been no expansion of surrounding amenities, including the library and cafeteria.
Despite five abstentions from the Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR), the bill for expanding the public European School in Junglinster was also approved in the Chamber.
A total of €58.7 million has been allocated for the project. The school began operating at the Lënster Lycée International School site for the 2018/2019 school year. The primary school and preschool, currently accommodated in containers, will receive new facilities. “In this new building, 400 children and 20 classrooms will be accommodated,” highlighted Cahen.
ADR MP Jeff Engelen explained that the party would abstain from the project because they do not want two parallel school systems to be operated simultaneously. In contrast, Green Party MP François Bausch argued that Luxembourg, with its large international community, requires such schools. David Wagner of The Left acknowledged that it would be preferable if regular schools could meet all needs. However, given the current reality of Luxembourgish society, alternative options like the European or International School are deemed necessary.
