Faroe Islanders were treated to a grand opening ceremony last week as the new Glasir educational centre in Tórshavn was finally officially opened.
Glasir – the largest on-land construction project in the history of the Faroe Islands – has been underway for a couple of years, and there was huge excitement among locals who flocked in huge numbers to West Tórshavn to witness the historic opening of the new centre.
However, all is not well at Glasir. Teaching has commenced this week, and according to sources close to the matter circumstances at the futuristic centre are far from ideal.
It appears that the place is a de facto construction site and by no means the finished article.
“I went to the men‘s room on my floor, and there was no toilet paper there,” one source told Local.fo, adding that “the teacher´s room was completely empty, with the exception of a couple of furniture boxes and workmen buzzing around the beehive.”
Local.fo understands that workmen are working around the clock on all floors in order to finish the remaining work as soon as possible.
Local.fo also understands that serious concerns and voices have been raised over the past couple of months about opening Glasir in August. Apparently, it has been feared that the new educational centre would not be ready to welcome teachers and students immediately after the summer break.
Some have suggested it would have been preferable to wait until fall – or perhaps even longer – to open the new educational centre.
Glasir covers a total area of 19.500 square metres.
“More than 150 people have been involved in the construction on a daily basis. The total project cost is DKK 636,5 million, which is DKK 32.600 per square metre. When I compare this to other major building projects, I think it is fair to say that we are seeing great value for the taxpayers’ money,” Ewald Kjølbro, the CEO of Landsverk (The Faroese Road Authority), said in a speech at the aforementioned ceremony, as quoted by Kringvarp Føroya.
Article edited 21 August 2018, 17:01