The Medellín Mayor’s Office reported this Monday, October 19, that the construction of Colombia’s first “mega prison” will be completed in May 2027.
The penitentiary complex, located in the district of San Cristóbal northwest of the capital of Antioquia, will have a capacity for 1,339 people deprived of liberty and represents an investment of more than 675,000 million pesos (approximately 210 million dollars).
He mayor of MedellinFederico Gutiérrez, specified that the work currently reaches 47% of physical execution.
After the formal delivery of the infrastructure in May, an operational phase of a month and a half will be carried out for the calibration of security systems and technological tests, estimating that by the end of July 2027 the center will house approximately 1,200 inmates from the temporary detention system in police stations.
The facility will have six pavilions, sanitary areas, educational training workshops and infrastructure adapted for people with disabilities.
The project is developed under the first Public-Private Partnership (PPP) scheme in the Colombian penitentiary sector, with a concession projected to last 15 years (three for construction and twelve for operation) that includes specialized private security services.
This infrastructure is aligned with the security commitments assumed by the administration of the President Abelardo de la Espriellajoining the regional trend of construction of maximum security centers in Latin America.
“We are going from strength to strength: 47% progress in the work of the Metropolitan Megaprison. Here the criminals are really going to be paying jail time, not out there extorting people. This has to be a model not only for Medellín, but for Colombia,” said the mayor. Federico Gutierrez.
The authorization of the prison facility seeks to resolve overcrowding in the police stations and Immediate Reaction Units (URI) of the Aburrá Valley.
The transfer of detainees to the new infrastructure will allow police forces to be reassigned to preventive patrol work and crime prosecution in the urban quadrants.
