Municipality projects investment of almost 18 million for the rehabilitation of schools in Pombal

Pombal City Council approved the launch of the public tender for a proposal for the rehabilitation of the Escola Básica Integrada Gualdim Pais, an investment worth around 3.4 million euros and is part of a project worth around 18 million euros for the requalification of three school establishments in the city: Escola Gualdim Pais, EB Marquês de Pombal, and Escola Conde Castelo Melhor.

Pedro Pimpão, president of Pombal City Council, told Agência Lusa that the intervention at EBI Gualdim Pais is necessary and “long desired by the school community”, given that it is an educational establishment that, “in terms of isolation and of energy efficiency itself, it needs major interventions, for greater convenience and for better conditions for both teaching and learning”. The work involves improving accessibility, creating blocks for classes, and remodeling the recreation space and playing field, in a school building that, the mayor said, is “about three decades old” and has “many anomalies.” .

EB Marquês de Pombal is part of the Pombal School Group and was one of the educational establishments transferred to the municipality in the process of decentralization of Education that has been taking place since 2022, when the Sectoral Commitment Agreement was signed between the Government and the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities (ANMP). According to the ANMP assessment, the Marquês de Pombal and Gualdim Pais schools are on the list of educational establishments in “urgent” need for rehabilitation.

The municipality submitted an application to the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) with the investment project in Marquês de Pombal, with which it “intends to intervene in all blocks that make up the school space”. According to the press release released by the City Council, the work will renovate the exterior and “improve the operating conditions” of the building.

The application joins another already presented for the requalification of the Gualdim Pais School, and the requalification project of the Conde Castelo Melhor School, in the order of 4.4 million euros, which was approved at a Chamber meeting in February and should begin after the end of the current academic year. Regarding receiving community funds, the president said that he hopes to have “100% financing”, “as was assumed between the Government and the National Association of Municipalities”.

As part of an opinion from the technical team that was formed, with representatives from the school, the School Group, the Parish Council and the Educational Projects Unit of the City Council, during the execution of the works, which are expected to last two years, teaching activities will take place at the Externato A Falinha facilities. The project envisages the construction of a school center with ten classrooms, library, gym, outdoor playground and other service areas, as well as the reorganization of traffic for better access to the school.