The government has extended the deadline to submit proposals for the development of a central prison complex, and ‘Hope Island’ for the rehabilitation of juvenile offenders, in Uthuru Thila Falhu.
The project aims to consolidate the nation’s existing prisons in different islands into a central prison, and create a dedicated rehabilitation centre for minors exposed to criminal environments.
The projects will be carried out on contractor-finance model. The Ministry of Homeland Security and Technology said in an announcement that the deadline for expression of interest has been extended to encourage more parties to participate in the tender process.
The Hope Island project will involve dredging 15 hectares of land. The facility will accommodate a total of 700 people, including staff. The facilities will include residential units, an education hub, a training facility, sports facilities, a medical facility, a mosque with a capacity of 700 people and a community and family area.
The government has previously said that children admitted to Hope Island will remain there until they are 18 years old. The facility will offer programmes to improve children's behaviour, education, training, job experience and other such opportunities.
A total of 30 hectares of land will be dredged for the construction of the prison complex. The complex will include residential units, drug rehabilitation facility, halfway house, education and training facility, a mosque with a capacity of 1,000 people, and medical unit. The prison complex is aimed at addressing the difficulties currently faced in providing services in different prisons scattered across multiple islands.
Those interested in implementing the project on contractor finance basis must submit their applications before 02:00 pm on 18 May. Full details have been published in the government gazette.