Kársnesskóli construction in Kópavogur delayed until autumn 2025

Construction on the new Kársnesskóli in Kópavogur has faced ongoing delays, with the school now scheduled to open in autumn 2025—two years later than initially planned. The school was originally expected to be operational by May 2023. The project began in 2021 after the previous school building was vacated due to mold issues, leading to its demolition.

The construction contract was awarded to the Italian construction company Rizzani de Eccher; however, after defects were identified, Kópavogsbær terminated the agreement. While there were hopes of starting classes by the end of this year, environmental director Ásthildur Helgadóttir has indicated that this will not be feasible. She revealed that the exterior walls are in worse condition than anticipated, necessitating additional repair work, which is time-consuming. Moreover, the aluminum window system, which was leaking, cannot be repaired and must be replaced, with production of the new system not expected to be completed before the year’s end.

The municipal budget for the school construction was estimated at over 3.6 billion ISK, making it Kópavogsbær’s most expensive project to date; however, the final costs remain undetermined.

A legal arbitration process is currently awaited to ascertain whether the termination of the contract was lawful. The outcome is expected within the next two weeks and may lead to a claim for damages, which is difficult to predict but is hoped to be resolved in a manner beneficial to Kópavogsbær, despite the resulting losses for all parties involved.