The Ministry of Education plans to begin construction of the Pere María Orts i Bosch High School at the end of April

The Valencian Regional Ministry of Education plans to begin the restoration work on the Pere Maria Orts i Bosch High School at the end of April. This will allow for the completion of the school's renovation and expansion after years of work stalled. This will also allow for the removal of the prefabricated classrooms where some students study. This was announced by the city's mayor, Toni Pérez, and the Education Councilor, Maite Moreno, following the Ministry's announcement of the imminent start of construction. "This is very good news because we have already been informed that these long-awaited works by the Pere Maria school community and the entire city of Benidorm will be underway at the end of this month," stated Toni Pérez, who added that "the message can only be one of satisfaction and confidence that we will soon be celebrating its completion."

The department headed by Minister José Antonio Rovira has already formalized the award of this project through a public tender to the company Vialterra Infraestructuras, with a budget of €12,888,556.50, including taxes, and a completion period of 18 months. The contract is divided into two annual instalments: €8,272,008.67 planned for 2025 and the remaining €4,616,547.83 for 2026.

"Yesterday we confirmed the tender for the technical management of the structural renovation and accessibility and energy efficiency improvements at the Ausiàs March school, and today, the completion of the Pere Maria Secondary School," the mayor noted. "Two long-awaited and highly sought-after projects," he continued, "which were never addressed by the previous regional administration of the PSOE and Compromís parties, and which are finally going to become a reality thanks to a Generalitat governed by the Popular Party."

Pérez recalled that "from the very beginning, Minister Rovira committed to doing everything necessary to complete the Pere Maria High School" and that, since then, "the entire administrative, contractual, drafting, and bidding process for the project" for this secondary, baccalaureate, and vocational training centre has been finalized. "Now, we have an effective contract and a deadline to resume construction," a project that "we hope will be completed before 2027 and with which we will have returned the Pere Maria Orts i Bosch school to normality that has been for too long linked to unfulfilled promises and successive announcements of start and stoppages. We are confident that this time we will have a fully finished school adapted to the changing times," he concluded.

Some facts about the project

The renovation and expansion work on what was once the city's first secondary school began in 2009 and since then, with 85% of the work completed, was halted in 2010, and has suffered several more halts since then. The last of these, in 2018, has not been resumed to date despite numerous demands from the City Council.

The latest project approved and awarded by the Ministry of Education, with a budget of nearly €13 million, envisages the demolition of the old classroom building built in the 1970s, which has structural damage, and the construction of a new one in its place. The building will be located parallel to the one built during the 2009-2010 academic year and will also be improved and updated. In total, the constructed area will be 11,029 square meters, with 9,063 square meters of open space available to students. This area includes secondary school play areas, gardens, multi-sport courts, porches, and a vegetable garden.

The new building will consist of three floors above ground level: a ground floor plus two upper floors, which will house teaching spaces, general services, restrooms, administrative spaces for the school itself, and other spaces for complementary uses. The centre will be made up of three volumes: two large parallel buildings connected by walkways and the existing gymnasium.

In addition, it will have 20 classrooms for Compulsory Secondary Education, eight for Baccalaureate, two additional classrooms for Secondary Education, and eight for Vocational Training, as well as a cafeteria and a caretaker's residence.

The construction systems are used to guarantee compliance with the most modern energy standards defined by current regulations. Regarding the facilities, an air conditioning system using Air Handling Units (AHUs) has been designed for all rooms, with cooling heating and ventilation capabilities, ensuring proper air renewal.

An aerothermal system has also been designed to supply hot water to the gym and cafeteria, and the installation of photovoltaic panels to provide the centre with renewable energy.