Vlaams Minister of Education Zuhal Demir, on behalf of the Flemish Government, has given the green light to the construction of 38 new school buildings together with the private consortium Scholen op Maat (SOM), a partnership between Invesis and Belfius across Flanders.

This decision, announced by Flemish Education Minister Zuhal Demir (N-VA), aims to address the shortage of school places and modernize outdated educational infrastructure. The projects will create capacity for more than 20,000 pupils and represent an investment of around €500 million (US$570 million).

These 38 projects form the second phase (Perceel 2) of the "Scholen van Vlaanderen" program. This is a large-scale public-private partnership (DBFM: Design, Build, Finance, Maintain) in which the government collaborates with private partners to speed up school construction. The private consortium Scholen op Maat (SOM), formed by Invesis and Belfius, is responsible for developing, financing, building, and maintaining the schools for 30 years. The Flemish government will repay the costs gradually once the schools are operational, rather than paying everything upfront. The initiative covers different types of education — from preschool and primary to secondary, special education, and adult education — and is spread across various school networks in the Flemish Region. It is part of a broader plan to invest €3.2 billion (US$3.65 billion) in school infrastructure during this legislative term to reduce waiting lists and improve learning conditions.