Decision on construction of new prison in Liepaja should be made by June – minister

  • 2019-04-12
  • LETA/TBT Staff

RIGA – The decision on construction of the new prison in Liepaja should be made by June, said Justice Minister Janis Bordans (New Conservative Party).

The politician said that the decision should be made by June, otherwise the project has to be started frm scratch and up to EUR 1 million already invested in organization of the project would be lost. He also said that construction costs are growing, and in the future construction of the prison would be more expensive than today.

Bordans said that the future of the prison now depends on the government’s decision. Money for the jail has not been strictly planned yet. He also said that a new prison is not as much as for comfort of the inmates, but safety of the society.

As reported, the procurement commission assessing bids to design and build the new Liepaja Prison has selected the lowest bid submitted by construction company Abora, which offered to construct the prison for EUR 113.597 million.

Company P.M.G, L4 will supervise construction of the Liepaja Prison.

Based on the procurement commission's decision, the Justice Ministry will draw up and submit a report to the Cabinet of Ministers, which will decide on allocating financing for the project. After funding is allocated for the project, a contract will be signed with Abora, according to which construction of the prison will have to be completed by March 31, 2023.

"Implementing such a major construction project and creating modern infrastructure will make it possible to radically change the correctional system, enabling effective resocialization of inmates and their successful inclusion in society once they have served their sentences," said the Courthouse Agency.

The other bidders to build Liepaja Prison were Latvian company UPB and Estonia's Merko Ehitus Eesti. The procurement commission concluded that Abora's bid met all the criteria and the company offered to build the prison at the lowest cost.

UPB offered to implement the project for EUR 127.197 million and Merko Ehitus Eesti for EUR 137.374 million. They can appeal the procurement commission's decision in ten days.

The procurement commission was made up of representatives from the Courthouse Agency, Justice Ministry, Prison Administration, law firm Sorainen and Latvian Association of Civil Engineers.

As reported, the new prison in Latvia’s southwestern city of Liepaja will be able to accommodate 1,200 inmates. The prison complex will include eight buildings. The total size of the prison’s territory will be 305,116 square meters and the total floor space of the premises is projected at 51,092 square meters.

The prison complex will be situated 5.6 kilometers from the Liepaja center.