Filenews 20 December 2024
Four days after the inauguration of the new closed prison wing, the tender for the construction of a completely new closed prison, with a capacity of 360 people, was announced today.
The announcement of the project was made by the Department of Public Works and tenders should be submitted by March 2025. The cost of the project is estimated to reach €29 million. and the cells will be erected on the basis of the recommendations of the Committee against Torture of the Council of Europe.
The construction of the new prison is planned to take place west of the existing buildings of the closed prison and near the Centre for Non-Institutional Employment. The space has already been landscaped after securing the required area.
The construction of the new closed prison (essentially two wings that will be able to accommodate about 360 prisoners) is expected to solve the problem of overcrowding.
Already with the operation of the new wing (conversion of the Open Prison into a closed one), which was inaugurated last Monday by the President of the Republic, which will be able to accommodate 240 people, the problem of overcrowding by 30% is solved.
It is estimated that the new closed prison that will be built in the wider area of the Central Prison will be ready within 2027. It is noted that the announcement of the project in 2024 was a commitment of the Minister of Justice Marios Hartsiotis, within the framework of solving the problems faced by our prison system.
