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Alberta government still promising 50 schools by 2016

The end of August and the start of September is a hectic time for kids as they reunite with their alarm clocks, textbooks and their friends. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

EDMONTON – Alberta’s top infrastructure bureaucrat says the province still plans to build 50 new schools by the spring of 2016, even though no ground has been broken for any of them.

Marcia Nelson, deputy minister of Alberta Infrastructure, says the ministry is streamlining construction to get the schools ready in time for the 2016-17 school year.

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The government has promised to build 50 new schools and modernize 70 within two years at a cost of $2 billion.

READ MORE: Province to modernize 18 schools in Edmonton and Calgary 

Locations and plans have already been announced.

READ MORE: Alberta government to build three new Edmonton schools

Nelson says plans are well underway and actual construction should take 18 to 20 months.

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Opposition critics say the schools have taken too long to get off the ground and meeting the 2016 target may cause costs to soar.

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