Construction of $1.7B N/A Prison taking shape

Acting Director of Prisons, Nicklon Elliot and a team on Saturday inspected ongoing works on the $1.7 billion New Amsterdam Prison Complex to ensure the project is on schedule. The contracts for the massive infrastructural work were awarded back in October 2023.
The contractors are Professional Engineering & Construction Services, Guy Biz Establishment, Builders Hardware General Supplies & Construction, Singh & Son Construction, DBL Group and Navin & Sons Construction.
The contracts were awarded in lots and included senior officers’ living quarters; male and female living quarters; an officers’ sports club and a reception building.
A kitchen and a storage bond will also be built along with an infirmary annex, overhead storage tank, a treatment plant, cell blocks, and a training facility for inmates.

The project forms part of the government’s overall reform and modernization programme for the prison service, which is targeting the transformation of the prison from a penal to a correctional institution.
Back in October 2023, Permanent Secretary of Home Affairs, Andre Ally, underlined the significance of these capital projects in reshaping the prison infrastructure, focusing not only on rehabilitation but also on the facilities’ functionality for the betterment of both staff and inmates.
The Ministry of Home Affairs stands resolute in its commitment to improving infrastructure and facilities and promoting a safer and more rehabilitative environment within correctional facilities.
To facilitate the construction, inmates were transferred to the Timehri Prison in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica). It was reported that the arrangement is a temporary one since the new female prison at Lusignan should have been completed in the first quarter of 2024.
Upon completion of that facility, the female prisoners will be housed there permanently.
Further, the male prisoners who were previously housed at Timehri Prison were transferred to the Lusignan Prison.