Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna led the groundbreaking Monday for a new seven-story building complex at Victorino Mapa High School in San Miguel, Manila.

The complex, with a total project cost of P298,961,618.01, is expected to be completed by May 2026. The current V. Mapa High School campus houses 2,767 students, 129 teachers, and 27 non-teaching personnel.

It will feature 162 classrooms, a spacious library, a canteen mess hall, 16 science rooms, six laboratories, a 650-square-meter gymnasium, a 208-seat auditorium, five elevators, and outdoor activity areas.

“Because of the limited land area of 3,771.15 square meters, we had to maximize the space by building upward to seven stories,” Lacuna said.

“That multiplied the total floor area of the project by over five times. While the construction of the main building is underway, classes will be conducted at the annex building,” she added.

The campus complex project is funded by the Special Education Fund-Fiscal Year 2024 of the Division of City Schools Manila.

Lacuna said the city would work with the City Council, congressmen, and charitable donors to provide satellite internet dishes and fiber internet for high-capacity internet access across the campus.

“One satellite dish will not be enough for the number of students and personnel,” said Lacuna, as she urged the campus community, led by school principal Edmund Villareal and Division of City Schools Manila officer-in-charge Cristito Efo, to continue supporting the city government’s education and social welfare programs.