In 2021, the Chamber of Deputies passed a draft bill that enabled the government to build the new NOSL with a budget of about €158 million. The new building is urgently needed, as the secondary school has become too small for its 600 students.
The difficult negotiations with the 30 owners of the 32 plots in the municipality of Erpeldange-sur-Sûre are the main hurdle for the project. The landowners are unable to agree on a selling price.
Nevertheless, Minister of Finance Yuriko Backes, Minister for Spatial Planning Claude Turmes, and Minister for Mobility and Public Works François Bausch are still hopeful that an agreement can be reached with the owners of the 7 hectares of land. For the time being, the state is not planning to launch an expropriation procedure. However, the ministers make it clear that this option cannot be ruled out either, as the construction of the new secondary school represents a “public utility”.
The state has now made the owners a new offer, which is higher than the initial one made seven years ago.
The necessary procedures for the construction can only be launched once the state has acquired all of the required plots of land. It is estimated that it will take about two years before construction can start, while the construction works themselves are estimated to take about four years. As such, it is almost certain that no students will attend classes in the new NOSL, which will be able to welcome 1,200 students, before 2030.
In late-January, the municipal council of Erpeldange-sur-Sûre expressed concern over a well located on a plot owned by the municipality. In response, the ministers have confirmed that no construction will take place on this specific plot of land, which means that the water source will remain available for agricultural use and watering the local football fields.
This information was provided by the responsible ministers in their joint reply to two different parliamentary questions by MPs Martine Hansen (Christian Social People’s Party – CSV) and Chantal Gary (The Green Party – Déi Gréng).
