Work is underway on the Primary Schools for the 21st Century (P21) projects in New South Wales, signalling the beginning of a raft of construction work across the state which will help modernise schools and support local jobs.
P21 is the largest component of the Australian Government's historic $14.7 billion Building the Education Revolution (BER) program.
The $12.4 billion P21 program will deliver much needed funding to every primary school for major infrastructure projects, including libraries, multipurpose halls and classrooms.
The first sod was turned today on the first of the public school projects. A new hall and covered outdoor learning area are being built at Minto Public School. This $2 million project is due for completion in December 2010.
Across NSW, a total of 1,764 schools have received $2.9 billion for 2,389 major infrastructure projects under Rounds 1 and 2 of the P21 program.
This is on top of $414 million for 3,069 NSW primary and secondary schools under the National School Pride Program for minor infrastructure and maintenance projects.
Successful projects for the third component of the BER, Science and Language Centres for 21st Century Secondary Schools, are currently being finalised.
The $14.7 billion Building the Education Revolution complements the existing and planned investments by the NSW Government.
Building the Education Revolution is a key element of the Rudd Government's $42 billion Nation Building - Economic Stimulus Plan to support jobs, stimulate local economies and invest in important infrastructure for the long-term.
A full list of successful schools and their planned projects are available at buildingtheeducationrevolution.gov.au or at www.economicstimulusplan.gov.au.