Honduras launches third tender for offshore prison

The Honduran defense ministry launched a third attempt to conduct a bidding process to find a builder for an offshore prison complex.

The project has come under fire from construction experts for its heavy capex and has been criticized by environmentalists for the potential damage it will cause.

The chairman of the auditing commission of the national penitentiary institute, Ramiro Fernando Muñoz, said during comments broadcast by RCV Noticias that the process was launched with the publication of a notice in local media on Monday and Tuesday. 

Just as in the previous two failed tenders, companies can participate by invitation only, but Muñoz did reveal the names of those invited to bid.

According to a report from STN Honduras, Muñoz said the government is hopeful that this third process will be successful and that the participants will meet the requirements. The previous tenders supposedly failed because the companies did not present guarantees, resulting in the government declaring them void.

“On the one hand, the companies have been limited by something, and they know this is not an easy project, it’s controversial” he was quoted as saying by daily Proceso. “On the other hand, there are the guarantees from the banks. Honduran banks don’t want to allow this process or offer guarantees so that the companies can present them.”

Despite the lack of information provided by the ministry about the bids, Muñoz said that the project is feasible and transparent, and that the funds to build the project have been included in the 2025 general budget. 

The cost of constructing this prison complex has been estimated by experts at around US$800mn due to the difficulty of transporting materials and workers to and from the site, 250km off the northern coast on the Cisne islands. Nevertheless, the Honduran government has said that according to its calculations, the project would cost only around US$80mn. 

President Xiomara Castro ordered the construction of the complex in June last year.