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2005 News Releases

September 19, 2005

Grande Prairie Regional College expands with $3 million from government

Grande Prairie... The Alberta government is providing $3 million to Grande Prairie Regional College to expand its main campus and eliminate aging portables. The funding comes as a result of the government's First-Quarter Fiscal Update in August.

"This capital funding will allow Grande Prairie Regional College to move forward with its plans to get rid of its trailers and move programs into its main building," said Advanced Education and Technology Minister Dave Hancock. "This renovation, which will significantly enhance the student's learning environment at the college, underscores our government's commitment to ensuring that Alberta students receive a top quality education no matter where they live in this province"

The 11 trailers currently being used for instructional and support space are 30 years old. They include over 2,200 square meters of space that accommodates approximately 300 students. The college plans to replace the space by adding on to the north east wing of its main campus, where its Early Childhood Development program, computer labs and classrooms equipped for e-learning will be housed.

"This project will preserve and protect our post-secondary infrastructure resources and ensure students from Grande Prairie have an opportunity to learn in a healthy, safe and modern environment," said Dr. Lyle Oberg, Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation. "By investing in our infrastructure today, we are investing in the future prosperity for all Albertans."

In total, $614 million has now been allocated for Alberta's post-secondary institutions under the Government of Alberta's 2005-08 Capital Plan - an increase of $145 million since Budget 2005 was announced in April.

"We are pleased to receive this funding as part of our ongoing campaign to refurbish and upgrade the campus in meeting the future needs of our students, employees and community. The Douglas J. Cardinal Performing Arts Centre has been completed; we are adding additional capacity to our residence townhouses; we continue to maker major advances in modernizing the instructional technology; and now this new funding will help us to replace the trailers with more permanent facilities for instruction and day care," said Jim Henderson, President of Grande Prairie Regional College.

Backgrounder

Quick facts - Capital funding for post-secondary institutions

  • The province's 2005-08 capital plan includes $614 million for post-secondary institutions. This includes new funding of $145 million over three years for additional projects, announced on August 29.
  • The funding will also support a number of maintenance projects at post-secondary institutions throughout the province.
  • $30 million of the $145 million is designated for maintenance projects.
  • The Alberta government also identified funding for select infrastructure maintenance projects which address urgent preservation projects throughout the post-secondary system. Projects selected will include those that relate to health and safety issues, and those necessary to avoid serious program delivery disruption.