Key role for new prison project
The Victorian Coalition Government is seeking a project director to lead development of the promised new prison at Ravenhall.
Minister for Corrections Andrew McIntosh said advertisements have been placed in newspapers seeking applicants for the position.
“The new men’s prison at Ravenhall will not only add much-needed capacity to Victoria’s prison system but will also provide jobs in Melbourne’s west,” Mr McIntosh said.
“This is an important role for the Government, and vital to ensuring the success of the project. Representing the Coalition Government’s interests, the project director will be working closely with local communities, councils, industry and the successful private sector consortium to deliver the new prison.”
The new prison was announced in this year’s State Budget and will be designed, built, maintained and operated as a public private partnership. The Coalition Government already owns the proposed site at Ravenhall, which sits between the existing Metropolitan Remand Centre and the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre.
Planning for the new prison is well underway. The project director will play a pivotal role through the planning and development, contracting, and construction and delivery phases.
“This will deliver a much-needed piece of infrastructure in a way that ensures the best value for money for taxpayers,” Mr McIntosh said.
“The Coalition Government will work co-operatively with industry to deliver this major infrastructure project in a timely and cost-effective way.”
The funding also provided for the construction of 395 new beds at existing prisons by 2014.
In total, these projects will deliver an estimated 800 construction jobs and 580 ongoing staff positions.
The Coalition Government promised 500 new prison beds in its first term to take account of its new tougher sentencing regime.
Since coming to Government, it became clear Labor’s shameful neglect of Victoria’s prison system had created significant capacity issues.
The Coalition Government has identified that a new prison, and new beds at existing prisons, are both now required to fix another Labor mess and the Coalition Government is delivering them.
A project director is expected to be appointed in the coming months, with a full project team due to be appointed before the end of the year.
A community advisory group, including representatives from Melton and Brimbank Councils as well as members of the local community, will be established to ensure local input throughout the planning and development stages.
An industry briefing will be held later this year to discuss the details of the project, with the expressions of interest phase scheduled for mid-2013.
