HOCHTIEF PPP Solutions and the Municipality of Halstenbek on Friday signed contracts for the reconstruction of the Wolfgang-Borchert-Gymnasium (secondary school). The company will plan and construct the new school building and operate it until 2033. The contract for this public-private partnership (PPP) project is worth some €31 million: €21 million for construction and €10 million for operation.

Halstenbek is a municipality in the district of Pinneberg, in Schleswig-Holstein.

Mayor Linda Hoss-Rickmann, said:

"I am delighted that, following the unanimous decision by our municipal council, in signing this contract we have reached a very important milestone for the reconstruction of our Wolfgang-Borchert-Gymnasium. In implementing this important project on the basis of a public-private partnership using the ownership model, we are once again pursuing the course that we have already successfully taken with the construction of the sports hall and the elementary-community school."

The short construction period and the security that has been anchored in the contract, in particular, are important guarantees of success for the Municipality of Halstenbek and the school itself, and give us the confidence to look forward to completion in fall 2015."

The new secondary school for around 1,000 pupils is one of Halstenbek's projects for the future. The contractor, HOCHTIEF PPP Europa, will begin preparatory measures in mid-February and actual construction will start in April. Part of the operating services will be outsourced to SPIE.

The new secondary school will be built in three phases: During the first phase HOCHTIEF will construct the new school building on what is now the car park of the existing school. After completion and relocation of the school, the old building will be decontaminated and demolished. A new car park and the schoolyard will then be built on this site. HOCHTIEF is building the new school as a solid reinforced steel frame, using in-situ concreting. The facade will feature masonry on the ground floor, and metal panels on two upper levels and the set-back top floor.

Apart from modern classrooms, the new building will contain other areas, some of which will be open to the public. These include a large auditorium, a branch of the Halstenbek community library, and a dining hall/cafeteria. An existing combined heat and power plant will be integrated into the new building, and the existing multipurpose sports facility connected to it. A large schoolyard will be created to the rear. A second yard in the inner area between the new building and sport facility will be suitable for different uses - for example for musical performances, or as an outdoor dining area for the adjoining restaurant/cafeteria.

It is expected that completion of the new building and commencement of classes will be as early as September 2015, and the entire project is due to be finalized in summer 2016.

PPP partnerships are nothing new to the two partners: With the Wolfgang-Borchert-Gymnasium, the Municipality of Halstenbeck is already undertaking its third public-private partnership. HOCHTIEF PPP Solutions, for its part, has already undertaken 20 school construction projects around the world, 10 in Germany alone, including some larger school portfolios.