Honduras' offshore prison plan hits choppy waters as bidding process fails

The project to build an offshore prison complex in the Cisne islands off Honduras' northern coast has received a blow after authorities announced the failure of the first bidding process to award the construction contract. 

“Criminals and their allies should not be pleased after the first bidding process was declared a failure, because all processes should be transparent,” Honduran defense minister José Manuel Zelaya was quoted as saying by daily El Heraldo. The defense ministry is overseeing the construction.   

Without providing further details, Zelaya added that the reason behind the failure of the process was related to the lack of guarantees offered by the participating companies. 

“After the companies failed to present the guarantees, the law mandates that the tender be declared void and a new tender must be announced immediately so that all the companies can make offers, as stated in the law,” Zelaya added.  

Details of the bidding process have not yet been made known as the notice was not published on public procurement website Honducompras and only 12 companies, which have not been named, were invited to participate by the ministry. 

This is the latest in a series of obstacles that the project has encountered since the prison plan was announced in 2023, following delays to launch the tender and in obtaining the environmental permit, which was reportedly approved last month. 

Despite these issues, Zelaya said that the project will still go ahead as President Xiomara Castro ordered in 2023, following clashes between gangs in a female penitentiary close to capital Tegucigalpa in June last year, which resulted in the deaths of 46 inmates.

The minister added that, by isolating dangerous prisoners in the Cisne islands, around 250km off the country’s northern coast, the government will be able to reduce the chances of them receiving weapons or drugs, or maintaining links with organized criminal gangs.

Zelaya also said that certain inmates could also participate in the construction of the complex.

“I don't rule out making ‘trusted’ inmates available so they can join in the works and, in that sense, the company that wins the contract will have to apply 100% of its logistical and financial capabilities to complete it in the established time,” he was cited as saying by La Tribuna.  

Engineers and construction experts say the project will cost at least US$800 million due to the expense of having to transport materials and workers to the islands, which could end up taking a heavy toll on state coffers. 

However, Zelaya claimed that “the construction is [estimated] at 1-1.5 billion lempiras (US$40-US$60mn).”

The project has also come in for heavy criticism from environmentalists because its construction site is located in a protected natural area with ecosystems that include dozens of endemic species. The works could destroy those habitats and pollute surrounding waters. These concerns have not been tacked extensively by authorities. 

“I disagree with the project. In the end, the interest of the government is to build the prison no matter what, riding roughshod over whatever it has to,” engineer Jorge Paz of the Honduran association of civil engineers, told BNamericas. 

Most of the information related to the project remains confidential after the defense ministry filed a request to keep it from being made public, citing national security concerns.