FAQ: Questions Answered

This was a question that the Board considered in depth since the economic impact of COVID is a concern for us all. Essentially there were three key points in favor of building now rather than delaying a year:

• There is currently capacity in the marketplace to undertake a project of this nature which may change as economic conditions change.

• This offers an opportunity for VIS to support the local economy during a time when inward investment may be limited.

• If, as we all hope, there is a strong economic upturn in a couple of years, then VIS will be well-placed to attract new families and to support those regional organizations who view Vientiane as a low-cost hub for their regional activities.

During the construction phase we will lose the use of the front field and front court. In terms of our athletics programs, we will still have the back field and back court but may have to change the timing of after-school training activities to support primary, junior and senior teams so that these run consecutively rather than concurrently. We will still have full use of the pool and Fitness Centre.

Our inter-school competition programs may be slightly impacted in that VIS will not be in a position to host athletic competitions for at least a year, particularly MRISA. This means that our students may have to travel more. We are planning to get the gym finished by December 2021 so that we can host competitions from Season 2 of the SY21-22.

We hope to keep the impact of construction to a minimum. Over the December/January break we will be demolishing the Front Court, reconfiguring the car park and putting fencing up around the build zone. There will be a temporary security entrance in the front but drop-off and pick up should operate in the way that it does now.

All construction traffic will enter the campus from the side entrance and the contractors will use part of the front field for storage or equipment and materials etc. – all of which will be fenced and screened from view.

The rest of the campus should not be impacted (apart from some noise at times).

We plan to work with the contractors to provide viewing/learning opportunities so that they can see how buildings are constructed and monitor progress over the course of the 18 month build period.

We are in the process of negotiating a ten-year loan with one of our banks which will cover about 75% of the cost of the project to be repaid from the annual Capital Fund. The balance will come from Capital Reserves and future Capital Fees.