Scottish Borders Council and  Hub South East Scotland, the partnership which will develop the Kelso High School project with Morrison Construction, have reached financial close for an amount of £21.4 million (US$30 million).

Therefore, construction works on the new secondary school in Kelso is finally start in the next few weeks, after a considerable delay, according to the local authority.

It was one of a number of projects put on hold following a European ruling over funding that consider projects using the Scottish NPD model to be treated as a public investment. The issue was eventually resolved in November 2015.

NordLB has financed the project.

The school project will be build by Morrison Construction, a subsidiary of London-based Galliford Try Group, and it is expected to be opened in Autumn 2017.

Galliford Try's Facilities Management business will also provide operation and maintenance over the 25-year lifecycle.

The school at Nethershot on Angraflat Road will include new grass and synthetic sports fields as well as community facilities.

Councillor Sandy Aitchison said:

"The reaching of financial close is the final hurdle for this long-awaited school project. The existing school building has served generations of pupils in Kelso and the surrounding area well, but the need for a state-of-the-art facility for the community is apparent. I look forward to seeing the first sod cut to mark the official start of construction of the new Kelso High School."