Lands have been identified for construction of a new state-of-the-art correctional facility to replace the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre located in Kingston. The new structure is expected to cost at least $8 billion.

This was revealed by Minister of National Security and Deputy Prime Minister, Dr Horace Chang, in an interview with JIS News following the orientation session for members of the Board of Visitors and Parole Board, at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston on Wednesday.

“Tower Street is to be replaced. We are going to build a new prison… It’s an expensive programme, so we had to slow down a bit [due to] the economic realities, but it is not suitable for occupation in the long run,” he said.

The decision has been taken to relocate the facility, as it is in need of “major reworking”. Dr Chang said.

“Tower Street was…a slave trade post, it was never designed for regular occupation,” he said. In 1845, the British Colonial Government commissioned the facility into a prison.

Dr Chang noted that while the discussions are at the early stages regarding construction, the new modern facility “will be a properly designed prison that will be secure and meet the standards required for occupancy in all areas”.