A new 60-bed youth centre is being built on Greenfield land in South Australia.
The secure youth justice facility will be constructed on a 7.7ha greenfield site at Cavan and a nearby existing 36-bed centre will be upgraded to care for the youngest offenders in the system.
The facility will be funded by the sale of 15ha of vacant state government land at Oakden, the future development of the existing Magill site and $5 million from contingency funds set aside in the state budget for existing correctional facilities.
This is a U-turn on South Australian premier, Mike Rann’s, previous decision to cancel the public-private Murray Bridge prison project.
The Murray Bridge project had reached final stages with three consortia invited to submit proposals for the unisex prison at Mobilong, along with a forensic mental health centre, a new youth detention centre and a pre-release centre.
This prison cluster would have been built, owned, operated and managed by the private sector.
Westpac and Thiess teamed up for the original project. Another consortium included Babcock & Brown with Multiplex and Hansen Yuncken, while ABN Amro also joined forces with Baulderstone Hornibrook and Sarah Group.
The state government will now negotiate with the companies involved in the original public private partnership about the potential purchase of intellectual property before tenders open for construction.
“We made a tough decision in June to cancel the Murray Bridge prison project which included a 90-bed facility to replace both Magill and Cavan,” premier Rann said.
“It was a tough decision worth a total of $600 million to the state budget — and it is a decision that we stand by.
“Since that day, minister Rankine and I have repeatedly said that we would replace the old Magill facility as soon as it is financially responsible to do so. When this new facility opens, it will deliver a new era for youth justice in South Australia,” Rann said.
