Panama looks to start construction of new Colón prison complex 'soon'

The Panamanian government unveiled more details about the construction of a new prison complex in Colón to replace the Nueva Esperanza facilities and that has been planned for several years. 

On Wednesday, minister of government Roger Tejada said construction of the penitentiary will start "soon" – without naming the contractor or a date – and with better standards than El Salvador’s so-called center for terrorism confinement (Cecot) that opened last year.

“This prison in Colón has better standards than [President Nayib] Bukele’s jail in El Salvador. We have taken the time to determine the optimal technical conditions and that is why we took a year to produce the design and studies,” he said, according to news outlet El Siglo. 

The project, which was put out to tender last January, involves estimated capex of US$85mn – against the US$70mn that the Cecot reportedly cost. 

Three companies presented proposals to build the new prison, according to daily La Estrella: China Harbour Engineering Company submitted a US$86.3mn bid, Tradeco Infraestructura a US$85.7mn bid and Centroequipos offered US$86.5mn. The winner has not been announced.

Construction is expected to take three years.

The facilities that will be replaced include Colón public jail, Nueva Esperanza rehabilitation center, and Colón women’s prison, which are reportedly in bad condition, are overcrowded and do not comply with international standards. 

The new complex has been planned since September 2015 after a prison riot and was meant to be ready by 2018. 

The original tender was launched by the Juan Carlos Varela government and received three bids. Panamá América news outlet reported that, after some delays, the contract was finally awarded to a consortium formed by IBT and Constructora Rodsa in October 2017. 

The decision was disputed by the other two bidders and the process was voided amid allegations of wrongdoing by IBT related to other government contracts. A new tender was launched in 2018 but cancelled months later.