AN overdue flagship shared education campus will not open fully for at least another five years.
The start date for the Strule campus in Omagh has already been revised several times.
The biggest school building project in the north, it was due to open this year but was pushed back to 2021 and then to 2022.
With costs also rising, former Secretary of State Karen Bradley announced a £140 million allocation to support the project but conceded it might not be ready until 2023.
Now a new date of 2025 "at the earliest" has been mentioned in the Department of Education's annual report.
The land at Strule was gifted by the Ministry of Defence to the department in April 2011.
The co-location of six schools in the town is intended to increase opportunities for collaboration and sharing of facilities for more than 4,000 pupils.
A mix of grammar, non-grammar, Catholic, state and special schools will occupy the former barracks at Lisanelly. So far, just one has opened - Arvalee School and Resource Centre.
In February 2018 the procurement process was suspended.
The department's annual report said progress had been made in some areas including completion of site preparation work.
It said it had "encountered unprecedented issues around the main works contract procurement due to the withdrawal of one of the two bidders".
The competition is suspended and the department is continuing to work to identify a solution "to progress the procurement and award a contract for construction".
It said the work plan for 2020/21 and overall timescale was dependent on the approval of the business case addendum and final confirmation regarding access to Fresh Start Agreement funding.
The Stormont House and Fresh Start Agreements included plans to invest up to £50m a year, for 10 years, on integrated and shared education building projects.
"Due to the ongoing procurement/business case delay and more recently the impact of Covid-19 on government business there has been some slippage to completion dates with current estimates predicting the remaining schools will be on campus for September 2025 at the earliest," the department said.
It added that it continued to work closely with the six principals to build on the culture of sharing in Omagh through a wide range of education initiatives.
Sinn Féin MLA Catherine Kelly, a member of the assembly education committee, expressed disappointment.
"The Strule Shared Education Campus will bring social, economic and most importantly educational benefits for young people in the Omagh area for generations to come," she said.
"The slippage in the completion date is disappointing and frustrating."
