New reception centre at Montagne Posée prison almost ready

The Seychelles Prison Service has announced that its new reception facility being built at the Montage Posée prison is nearing completion and is expected to be in operation during the first week of October.

Costing over R2 million and built by Nicks & Co Construction, the facility once commissioned will function as a reception and control point for visitors and staff accessing or leaving the prison service’s main prison facility located at Montagne Posée.

Despite the Covid-19 event earlier in the Seychelles and ongoing concerns that this pandemic has caused or is causing to our daily lives, the new reception and control facility is being completed nearly to schedule and to budget.

Once commissioned the facility will have a reception area for visitors, three search rooms, a security control room, holding cells for persons caught attempting to either smuggle illegal items into the prison facility or who otherwise violate the rules, causing a disturbance or other unruly acts.

In addition, the facility will have a tuck shop with the services tendered out and operated by a private entity. The tuck shop will provide all items that visitors may wish to purchase for inmates.

Final touches to the facility will be ramps to accommodate infirmed or persons with disabilities, handrails, and window security grills.

Other projects, such as improving and expanding staff barracks at the main prison are as well underway, and parts, material for an inmate low risk facility having been delivered at the prison campus. Shortly a tender for work to lay the foundation of this facility will be announced.

Work to improve and upgrade the facilities at SPS Montagne Posée continues so that the prison service can deliver on its mission – that is to manage sentences of convicted inmates in a safe manner with rehabilitation as the key.