The Secretary for Investment Partnerships of the Government of São Paulo, Rafael Benini, visited Limeira this Tuesday (13) to meet with Mayor Murilo Felix (Podemos) and monitor the progress of construction works at the Jardim Lagoa Nova school unit. During the meeting, the construction stages of the unit were discussed. The project is receiving investments of approximately R$ 45 million and will serve 1,300 students in lower secondary and upper secondary education on a full-time basis.
The unit will have 8,400 square meters of built area and will include 35 classrooms, a cultural area with an outdoor amphitheater and auditorium, a covered sports court, a cafeteria and other facilities designed to support educational performance. The preparation and provision of 2,340 meals per day is planned. The project was also designed so that the multi-sports court and common areas may be open on Saturdays for community use. Delivery of the unit is scheduled for the second half of 2026.
According to Secretary Rafael Benini, the meeting was highly important to advance the construction of the Limeira school unit. “This is an innovative public-private partnership project by the Government of São Paulo that will accelerate investments and ensure permanent maintenance of school facilities, without transferring pedagogical management, which remains under the responsibility of the Secretariat of Education,” he said.
Mayor Murilo Felix (Podemos) stated that the project is one of the most anticipated in the municipality this year. “This is a project that had been stalled for years and is now truly becoming a reality. Thanks to ongoing dialogue and joint work with the State Government, especially with Secretary Rafael Benini, we were able to unlock this project and resume construction. It is a dream coming off the drawing board that will transform the Jardim Lagoa Nova area,” he said.
The new PPP schools are exclusively dedicated to offering full-time education for the final years of elementary school and for high school in the state network. Operation and maintenance of school infrastructure—such as cleaning, security, landscaping, meal preparation and building services—will be the responsibility of the concessionaire for 25 years, while pedagogical content remains under the responsibility of the Secretariat of Education. The contract is regulated and supervised by Arsesp, which also monitors the concessionaire’s performance indicators.
“What we are seeing today is a project moving from planning to reality and transforming public education in the State. These schools will offer modern, safe environments with guaranteed maintenance for 25 years, allowing school teams to fully focus on teaching quality. It is an investment that represents dignity and opportunities for thousands of young people in São Paulo,” emphasized Rafael Benini.
New Schools PPP
With a total investment of R$ 2.1 billion over 25 years, the project includes 33 school units in 29 municipalities through two concession lots, generating approximately 35,000 new full-time places. Half of the units are expected to be delivered by 2026 and the remainder by 2027. The goal is to expand access to full-time education, improve school infrastructure and ensure more efficient management of public resources, combining modernization and quality within the state education network.