Honduran offshore prison seen to incur enormous financial, ecological costs

Building an offshore prison 200km from Honduras’ mainland on Cisne Island could drain state coffers and destroy unique ecosystems, according to the head of the civil engineers’ association, Jorge Paz.

“There are species that are unique to the island. They cannot be found anywhere else in the Caribbean, and all that is in danger should construction move forward. History has shown that prisons in remote places are not manageable, it is difficult, and their maintenance is expensive,” Paz told BNamericas.

“This project has been taken really lightly, and has not been thought through because if the government had thought it through, it would not have selected that location in the first place.”

Paz said construction on islands that are closer to the mainland has been 50-75% more expensive. Newspaper El Heraldo quoted experts as saying that the Cisne Island prison could cost US$800mn because of high material transport costs. But Paz said the final amount could be even higher. 

“The construction costs are extremely high. We are talking about three to five times more than it costs to build on the mainland. Additionally, the government will issue an emergency decree to award the contract without an extensive tendering process,” he said.

“Apart from the damage this project will cause and the cost it will imply, there could also be corruption. Without getting ahead of ourselves, one cannot understand why they want to build in such a hurry.” 

Paz said the project was “another example of the lack of planning in this government, the rushed decision-making process, without serious analysis.”

President Xiomara Castro issued an executive order to build the prison after clashes between gangs in a female penitentiary close to Tegucigalpa on June 20, resulted in the deaths of 46 inmates. 

Defense minister José Zelaya said all pre-construction studies will be carried out to get the prison built as soon as possible.

Pictured: Cisne Island. Source: Defense ministry