A contract for the construction of a new computer laboratory on the Academy site has been awarded to the Juba based Horizon Real Estate Construction Company Limited and work has already started on site with a projected completion date of September 2011.

The work will be supervised by Pharos Architects of Nairobi and the cost of construction and professional fees is to be met by Khartoum based Zain SD who are a major telephony supplier in Africa.

Derek Chappell said: "This is another important step forward in the development of the Academy and I am extremely grateful to Zain SD for their generous and valued support for this project.

"Without that support we would not have been able to build the computer laboratory and to give our pupils the IT skills and training which will be so key to their future personal and educational development."

Elfatih Erwa Managing Director of Zain SD said: "We are very impressed with the work that has been done so far in establishing the Malek Academy as a centre of educational excellence and we want to do all we can to ensure that the momentum which has been achieved since the Academy opened in November 2010 is maintained.

"IT skills are an important educational requirement in the modern era and Zain is delighted to have made the construction of the new computer laboratory become a reality."