GEORGETOWN – The plans to expand the Mazaruni Prisons were initiated after the completion of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) following the fire and deaths of 17 inmates of the Georgetown prisons on March 03, 2016.
Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan informed the Department of Public Information(DPI) Wednesday that following the COI, government moved to initiate several of the recommendations, among them the planned expansion of the Mazaruni facility.
Noting the 2016 National Budget was already passed when the COI was completed, the Minister said a request for the funds for the project’s first phase was approved in this year’s budget.
These plans will see the foundations for a state of the art modern prison being built on the grounds of the Mazaruni Prison to the tune of $278 million.
The expansion will entail the construction of solid cast foundations, wall supports and internal fixtures such as wiring, utilities and other features being built over a one-year period.
The new section, which will be adjacent to a part of the old prison, will also feature automated locks, sprinkler systems and forced ventilation. Twelve concrete houses are also being built to accommodate prison offers stationed there, at a cost of $178 million dollars.
Ramjattan explained this was the first step towards building a maximum security prison which would accommodate some 400 prisoners. He added an engineer from Trinidad and Tobago with prior experience in constructing similar facilities was a consultant on the project.
When completed within the coming year, it will ease the problems of overcrowding at other prison facilities across Guyana. (DPI/GINA)
