Study for four new prisons

Each facility will hold up to 1,200 prisoners

Dar Al-Handasah (Shair and Partners) will conduct a technical study for building four new prisons. The study and consultancy works will cost around $7 million which will be transferred to the firm from the public budget reserves.

Riad Mneimneh, Director of the Operations Department at Dar Al-Handasah, said: “This project has been on the table for more than six months but the 12-month budget breakdown rule stirred things again and facilitated the transfer of needed funds.”

The rule states that whenever the public budget is not ratified, funds would be transferred and spent each month equivalent to the twelfth of the latest approved budget.

The four new prisons are expected to be constructed in North, Bekaa, South, and Mount Lebanon governorates but no areas have been chosen yet, according to Mneimneh. Each facility will hold up to 1,200 inmates.

“The study will take into consideration using state-of-the-art technology, environmental impact, and proximity to residential areas.” It will take at least a year to be completed.

22 prisons are operational in the country. Roumieh Prison is the largest and most notorious detention center, located in the Metn. According to the Internal Security Forces, the facility is running at more than double its intended capacity, with almost 4,500 inmates instead of the 2,000 it was designed for.