The Government will have to spend a huge sum to relocate inmates from the Fort Augusta Adult Correctional Centre in St Catherine to the South Camp Road Rehabilitation Centre in St Andrew.
The revelation came during a high level tour today involving the Minister of Youth, National Security, Justice and members of the Inter-ministerial working group on children who come in conflict with the law.
National Security Minister Peter Bunting says more than sixty million dollars will have to be spent to remove the approximately 250 female population.
He pointed to current archaic facilities which now represent the bulk of the correctional facilities islandwide, noting that the South Camp facility is by far the most modern adult facility.
He says with this in mind the Government sought to convert it to accommodate the juvenile girls and adult women.
Mr. Bunting says while the facility was designed for high risk male prisoners, plans are underway to modify the operations.
In the meantime Acting Commissioner of Corrections Colonel Sean Prendergast says the relocation costs also involve the removal of assets from Fort Augusta, including the facility's containerised trade training centre.
Colonel Prendergrast says 25-million dollars has been earmarked for the construction and refurbishment of the facility to make it suitable to accommodate the female population.
The Corrections head says there's no clear time line for the relocation of the female population from the Fort Augusta facility, as this is dependent on available resources.
The land on which the Fort Augusta Adult Correctional centre sits has been purchased by the Port Authority of Jamaica.
It has been earmarked for a planned expansion programme.
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