The construction of the new prison on Ká Hó Hill has been repeatedly highlighted by local authorities as an essential project to alleviate overcrowding at the previous Coloane Prison. According to data provided by the Correctional Services Bureau (DSC) to PLATAFORMA, the new prison will have a total capacity of 2,700 inmates.
The current Coloane Prison has a capacity of 2,041 inmates, with a current occupancy rate of 65 percent. Despite the apparent space in the previous prison, the occupancy rate for the male section reached 93 percent in 2020 before some improvement works were carried out on the premises.
The third phase of construction of the facility was completed in July, and it is now expected that the process of transferring inmates from the old prison to the new one will take over a year and a half to complete. This means that the new prison facility is expected to become operational in 2024, over 10 years after the initial estimated deadline. When asked by PLATAFORMA about how the process of relocating prisoners from the previous prison to the new facility would proceed, the CSB responded that “due to security considerations,” it is not appropriate to disclose further information about the transfer work.
“The DSC has established the ‘Working Group for New Prison Project, New Prison Relocation, and Trial Operations Coordination.’ This group will be responsible for detailed arrangements for the operation, management, facilities, and equipment of the new prison, as well as related preparatory work,” indicated the prison services of the Macau SAR. The Coloane Prison has 1,331 inmates. Around 1,122 are men, and 209 are women.
However, while the male section of the facility is currently at 63.4 percent of its total capacity, the female section is already at 77.4 percent of its total capacity of 270 inmates. The most common convictions include drug trafficking, fraud, or theft. Of the total number of inmates, the majority are residents from mainland China (40 percent), with residents of Macau (36 percent) and Hong Kong (12 percent) making up the remaining top three places.
Nova prisão em Macau
There are also four residents from Taiwan in the facility, with prisoners from Greater China accounting for 88 percent of the total prison population. The DSC indicated that the remaining 12 percent of the total are inmates of other nationalities, without specifying their countries of origin. Turbulent History The construction of the new prison facility in Macau has been plagued by multiple incidents since the start of construction in 2010.
The project for the new prison was divided into four phases, each developed by different companies. The first phase – the construction of foundations and prison walls – was awarded to the Zhen Hwa Port Construction Company, a company linked to the gaming concessionaire SJM, for 113 million patacas. The completion of the first phase was initially scheduled for 2012; however, significant delays were attributed by public works to natural factors, including weather conditions and soil characteristics on Ká Hó Hill, where the prison was being built. Blame was also placed on the quality of the materials used, which allegedly did not meet previously defined requirements. The project ended up in litigation after the company contested an 11 million patacas fine imposed on it for the delays.
The Court of Second Instance ruled in 2019 that the company should not be fined, citing that the defects observed during the project did not prevent its delivery. The second phase of the new prison’s construction included a contract of over one billion patacas awarded in 2015 to the Soi Kun Engineering Society, Limited, the company of the then-deputy and leader of the Jiangmen community, Mak Soi Kun.
The work began in March 2016 and was supposed to be completed by December 2018, but the company only finished the work the following year. The leader of the Association of Jiangmen Compatriots even answered questions about the progress of the project as a deputy during sessions of the Legislative Assembly, promising to expedite the completion of the works. The third phase was carried out by the Shanghai Construction and Engineering Society – Shanghai Construction Group (Macau), Limited, the local branch of Shanghai Construction Group, one of the world’s largest construction companies, which received a contract of 739.7 million patacas in April 2019. The final work included the construction of administrative buildings for the new prison facility, including four building blocks and a two-story underground parking lot, over a period of 693 days. However, true to form, the work suffered various delays related to the pandemic, weather conditions, changes in the work plan, human resources, as well as the production and transportation situation of materials from Europe. The delay led the authorities to impose a fine on the Shanghai construction company. The fourth phase of the project, yet to be awarded, mainly consists of low-voltage electricity systems related to security systems and communication system networks. Highlight The current Coloane Prison has a capacity of 2,041 inmates, with a current occupancy rate of 65 percent, and the new prison will increase the maximum capacity to 2,700 inmates.
