Contractor Veidekke and Oslobygg have reached an agreement to construct the Økern school in eastern Oslo, Norway.

This design-and-build contract is valued at approximately Nkr1.3bn ($124.4m), excluding VAT.

Covering nearly 17,500m², the project will include a new lower secondary school along with a multipurpose hall and a preschool.

The lower secondary school will accommodate eight parallel classes and up to 840 students while the preschool will have eight sections with a capacity of 140 children.

Meanwhile, the multipurpose hall will include three playing surfaces and an activity hall for dance.

The school plans to use the hall during the daytime and for sports and leisure activities in the evenings and on weekends.

The school building is expected to have a focus on creating indoor and outdoor social meeting spaces.

Measures in energy consumption and material selection have also been implemented to minimise its greenhouse gas footprint.

Construction is scheduled to commence in January 2024, with completion expected by the beginning of the school year in August 2027.

Veidekke has added the project to its order book for the fourth quarter of 2023.

Veidekke Bygg Oslo department manager Marianne Wille Haugen said: “We greatly appreciate the good partnership we have had with Oslobygg so far in the project. A year's interaction has given us confidence that this will be a great project for all parties, not least for the pupils, children and staff who will use the buildings.

“Good schools and kindergartens provide significant benefits for local communities, so we are really looking forward to building this. We are grateful for the confidence shown in us.”

Last month, Stockholm Vatten och Avfall appointed Veidekke for the development of a new wastewater tunnel in Stockholm, Sweden.