Scholen van Morgen(Schools of Tomorrow) is a public-private partnership between the Flemish government on the one hand and AG Real Estate and BNP Paribas Fortis on the other, structured together through the DBFM Scholen van Morgen NV. The program was launched in 2010 and encompassed the design, construction, financing, and 30-year maintenance of 182 school construction projects. AG Real Estate has taken on full management of the project and remains actively involved in the maintenance and monitoring of each school. Every school is a unique project, based on local needs and vision, and meets all modern requirements in terms of sustainability, comfort, and flexibility.
In the early 2000s, Flanders faced a severe shortage of funds for school construction. To shorten the long waiting list for new and renovated school infrastructure, the Flemish government sought an alternative approach. The ambition to catch up was launched through a PPP arrangement, which was established by decree in 2006.
Following a public tender to select the private partner, the government awarded the catch-up operation in 2010 to the consortium of AG Real Estate and BNP Paribas Fortis. The public and private partners then jointly established DBFM Scholen van Morgen nv, the company responsible for coordinating the catch-up operation.
The government had previously drawn up a list of schools eligible to join this unique program. This resulted in a closed portfolio of 165 projects, comprising 200 school buildings, of which 90% were new construction and 10% were renovation projects.
In July 2016, 17 additional projects were selected to participate in the program. The reduction of theVAT rate on school construction from 21% to 6% freed up 160 million euros to carry out additional school construction projects within the same DBFM program, Scholen van Morgen. This brings the total number to 182 new construction and renovation projects.
Construction on the first school began in 2013, and the last school, the Hasp-O Center in Sint-Truiden, was completed in early 2023. Since then, all 182 projects have been in the maintenance phase.
The schools were built according to the DBFM model. This means that DBFM Scholen van Morgen nv was responsible for the design (Design), construction (Build) and financing (Finance), and will continue to maintain the schools for 30 years (Maintain). During this 30-year period, the schoolboard pays an annual availability fee. At the end of the term, the building is transferred to the schoolboard at no additional cost.
The underlying shareholder of DBFM Scholen van Morgen nv on the public side is the FlemishGovernment, represented by School Invest and Agion. The underlying shareholders on the private side are BNP Paribas Fortis and AG Real Estate.
AG Real Estate COPiD acted as the delegated project manager and was responsible for the operational implementation of the program. In that capacity, AG Real Estate coordinated the entire design and construction process and remains responsible for the maintenance of each individual school for a period of 30 years. The project involved collaboration with 63 architectural teams and more than 20 contractors.
Team Vlaams Bouwmeester was a key operational partner in selecting the designs and providing advice on their development.
Scholen van Morgen is a cross-network construction program. The involved educational umbrella organizations GO!, Katholiek Onderwijs Vlaanderen, OVSG, and POV also made valuable contributions to the implementation of the projects
As an institutional investor, AG Real Estate promotes a constructive and innovative approach to public-private partnerships through its Public Real Estate & Finance department. Thanks to the expertise and experience we have built up in structuring PPPs through our previous collaboration with the Flemish Government in the Schools of Tomorrow program, we are now able, together with our public partners, to successfully implement another similar and ambitious DBFM program: Scholen van Vlaanderen(Perceel1).
