The Defense Ministry will hold a ceremony to break ground on new elementary and high schools to be built for children of U.S. military personnel in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Friday, officials said Thursday.

Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin, U.S. Forces Korea commander Gen. James D. Thurman, and other military and government officials will attend the ceremony to mark the beginning of the first construction stage of the U.S. military relocation project.

Also among the 100 participants will be Lee Ji-song, CEO of Korea Land & Housing Corporation, Pyeongtaek Mayor Kim Seon-gi and Rep. Won Yoo-chul of the ruling Grand National Party.

With a budget of 90 billion won ($84.7 million), the three-storied schools will be built on a 38,600-squre-meter plot. They will accommodate some 1,700 students and their construction is expected to complete by June 2013.

As part of a global U.S. troop realignment for strategic flexibility, the U.S. military has been working to relocate its military headquarters in central Seoul and other camps north of Seoul to Pyeongtaek. The relocation project is scheduled to be complete by 2016.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)