Por Redaccion 
The Minister of Educational Development and Vocational Training, María del Carmen Castillo, has laid the foundation stone of the new Secondary Education Institute located in the Almerimar – Matagorda area, in El Ejido (Almería), where the Junta will invest 8.6 million euros. This project will create 620 places for Compulsory Secondary Education and Baccalaureate, thus meeting the schooling needs of this expanding area of the Almerian municipality. The event was also attended by the Mayor of El Ejido, Francisco Góngora, and the President of the Provincial Council, Javier A. García.
The Minister highlighted that this project once again demonstrates the Junta’s strong commitment to quality public education in the municipality of El Ejido, where a total of 35 projects have been completed since 2019, with an investment exceeding 8.7 million euros. Notable projects include the expansion of the Murgi and Francisco Montoya institutes, as well as the La Paz school, among others. Likewise, Castillo stated that laying the foundation stone is always a reason for joy as it marks the beginning of a long-awaited project that will feature modern facilities, sports areas, and a bioclimatic cooling system that will ensure students’ thermal comfort during the hottest months, along with photovoltaic solar panels for electricity production.
This project has an estimated execution period of 24 months, with the expectation that, if everything progresses smoothly, the works will be completed in the first semester of 2027.
On the other hand, the Minister highlighted the investment of 79.5 million euros in 358 educational infrastructure projects in the province of Almería since 2019. Currently, there are 14 ongoing projects (under construction or in contracting phase) with a total budget of 29.3 million eurosIES Alhadra in Almería capital, and the new Las Salinas Institute in Roquetas de Mar.
El Ejido Mayor, Francisco Góngora, expressed his satisfaction in «laying the foundation stone of the new Almerimar IES, an infrastructure that has been in high demand for years by the City Council and the residents to meet the needs of a nucleus that already has nearly 12,000 inhabitants and a young and continuously growing population.»
He detailed that it will be built on a 13,200 m2 plot provided by the City Council, with a significant investment of 8.6 million euros, showcasing the firm commitment of the City Council and the Government of Juanma Moreno to promote quality infrastructure and education, ensuring that no student is left out of a nearby, top-notch center, eliminating the need to travel 10 km each day to attend classes.
The President of the Provincial Council, Javier A. García, stated that the construction of educational centers is synonymous with growth, well-being, and future for the entire province: «Education is the cornerstone of prosperity and the basis of the great objective shared by the Junta de Andalucía, the El Ejido City Council, and the Provincial Council: to equalize opportunities among Almerians, regardless of their location. Institutional collaboration for the benefit of all citizens, as evidenced in this event, is essential to make this possible.»
He also explained that Almería is no longer the long-forgotten province of Andalusia. «As an example of this reality, we only need to look at the significant investment that the Junta is carrying out in our land in educational infrastructure, with almost 80 million euros allocated since 2019, marking the largest increase in education investment in Almería’s history.»
New IES
The new center will be of D4+B2 typology, meaning it will have four lines of Compulsory Secondary Education and two of Baccalaureate, providing a total of 620 school places. The institute will be built on a 13,200 square meter plot located at the intersection of Avenida de la Sal and Calle Mar Azul, with a total built area of 4,974 square meters, distributed into teaching area, administrative area, common services, and outdoor spaces.
The Secondary Education teaching area will consist of 16 versatile classrooms with a capacity for 480 students, two classrooms for Music, Dramatization, and Audiovisuals, a classroom for Plastic and Audiovisual Education, a workshop classroom, two split classrooms, and two support and pedagogical reinforcement classrooms.
For Baccalaureate, there will be four versatile classrooms with a capacity for 140 students, a Drawing classroom, a split classroom, another for support and pedagogical reinforcement; as well as three laboratories, shared with ESO teachings, and a Technology classroom.
The common teaching area will include ten departments, a Special Education classroom with adapted toilet, a library, a gymnasium with changing rooms and toilets. In the administrative area, there will be offices for the director, head of studies, and secretary, an orientation room, offices for parent and student associations, caretaker’s office and reprography, secretary and archive room, and toilets for teachers. As common services, the center will have a cafeteria and storage, among others.
In the outdoor areas, the new Almerimar IES will have a covered porch, two sports courts, play area, garden, parking area for teachers’ vehicles, and landscaped area.
The construction of this new educational center is part of the Educational Infrastructure Plan of the Ministry of Educational Development and Vocational Training, implemented by the Andalusian Public Education Agency, with European co-financing through the Andalusia FEDER 2021-2027 Program.