Work has commenced on the new £53m Ayrshire College Kilmarnock Campus, after financial close of the project was reached earlier this month.

First Minister Alex Salmond attended a sod-cutting ceremony at the site to mark the start of construction work.

The new facility will create a stimulating learning environment that is "welcoming, accessible and flexible". It will include a health and wellbeing centre, hair and beauty salon and a learning resource centre, as well as sector-leading facilities for sport and science, technology and engineering.

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Commenting from the ceremony, the First Minister said: "Ayrshire College Kilmarnock Campus is the third college benefiting from a combined total of £330 million NPD funding, with work also underway at both the £228m City of Glasgow College campus and the £52m Inverness College campus. Diggers are already on site and I'm sure staff and students are eager to start enjoying their new state-of-the-art campus when it opens in 2016.

"This is the latest in a long line of investments in Scotland's college estate. I'm delighted to announce that we are supporting investment of over £830 million between capital and NPD supported projects since 2007 to ensure we deliver a first rate education and that Scotland's young people have access to state-of-the-art facilities."

He concluded: "Our investment in Scotland's infrastructure as a whole – including schools, hospitals and roads - is set to top more than £8 billion over the next two years, supporting around 50,000 full time equivalent jobs across the Scottish economy."

(JP/MH)