Plans are being made by the NSW government to shut down the Long Bay Jail at Malabar to sell the land and build another in southwestern Sydney.
But this one will be the biggest in Australia.
Corrective Services Minister David Elliott said: “Long Bay is a prime bit of real estate with close access to the eastern beaches, the airport and the city.”
“I’ve long held the view that prisoners should not have the enjoyment of a seaside setting.”
The Daily Telegraph reports the new jail will accommodate up to 5,000 inmates – which is almost half of the entire state’s prisoners of 12,600.
There are three sites in the Wollondilly area that have been identified as potential locations, with plans that the new prison will be privately built and managed.
Another prison is expected to be built in Grafton by 2019, which will house 1,700 prisoners.
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