Visitors tour the Nyaung Ngu Basic Primary School in Yangon Division.

MYANMAR Engineering Society (MES) has completed construction of the first government primary school, at Kungyangon township, Yangon Division, using the so-called interlocking system of construction, said society president U Than Myint, at Nyaung Ngu village last Sunday.

The project, part of the rebuilding program in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, uses prefabricated sections that can make use of local materials.

“This is the first time the interlocking system has been used in a school in Yangon Division, and the first school destroyed by Nargis to be rebuilt,” said U Win Khine, the secretary of the society.

According to Ministry of Education statistics, 62 government schools out of 117 in Kungyangon collapsed during the cyclone.

“We’ve got donors for the rebuilding of 24 of the collapsed schools, of which De- Myanmar was the first. Residents were delighted to see the school rise again,” the township education officer told The Myanmar Times.

U Win Khine said the interlocking system could cut down on the volume of cement and the number of bricks used in construction. Use of the ready-made plant, imported from China and Thailand, cut costs, but the plant could also be produced domestically.

“The developers can take the equipment to the site, and residents can use local materials,” he said.

At a cost of under K60 million, the 30-year plus lifespan of the 2400-square-foot school will exceed that of most reinforced-concrete buildings, said U Than Myint. The building includes sanitation, electrical outlets and a rest house for teachers. The steel-braced structure is designed to be proof against tropical storms and earthquakes.

The technology can be offered to developers or residents wishing to use the interconnecting block system to rebuild houses destroyed in the delta region. “We got the technology from Thailand, where it was used after the 2004 tsunami,” said U Win Khine.

Funding for the De- Myanmar Primary School Project came from the Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES), Myanmar Club RIT Alumni (Sin-gapore), Myanmar Engineers (Australia), Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand), United Engineering, Myanmar Citra Electrical, Asia Metal and the Taw Win family.