A COLEG Gwent campus is to have almost £4.5 million spent on it to improve facilities for staff and students.

Work on three projects at the Pontypool campus, on Blaendare Road, is expected to start next summer.

All the projects are at a very early stage and a design team and funding arrangements have yet to be finalised.

Coleg Gwent has plans to invest £34 million in total on its six campuses, of which £19 million will be spent this financial year and the other £15 million earmarked for spending over the next three years.

The main scheme at Pontypool, which will cost £2 million, is a 'centre of excellence' for the building and construction industry.

In addition to the main project, £2.5 million is to be spent replacing the library with a 'learning resource centre.' Remodelling of the front of the main building at the college will also take place at the same time, with a new entrance and reception area bring built. David Mason, (pictured) principal of Coleg Gwent, said: "Coleg Gwent has now embarked on a period of growth and development, spearheaded by a bold £18.7 million capital investment programme underpinned by a sound financial base.

"It is too early to say when exactly the projects will start. We plan to get under way in the summer, when work will cause the minimum of disruption to our students, and we expect the projects to take a year to complete.

"We are working on the details at the moment and this will include any arrangements that need to be made to ensure that students are not inconvenienced during construction." The centre of excellence is expected to address the identified shortage of skills in the construction industry.

More than 50 per cent of the college's construction training is delivered at the Pontypool campus, with 600 people a week on construction training courses there. It is anticipated that the new facility will enable the figure to rise to 1,000.

Improvements to the learning resource centres at both Pontypool and Newport campuses have been identified as major priorities by the college.