Gatton mega jail hit with $267 million cost blowout and further delays as prisoner numbers soar

A new mega jail in Queensland’s southeast has been hit with massive delays and a quarter-billion dollar budget blowout, as the state’s prison population is stretched to the limit.

An aerial view of the Lockyer Valley Correctional Centre near Gatton which is under construction. The project has been significantly delayed and costs have blown out by a quarter of a million dollars.

A new mega jail in Queensland’s southeast has been hit with massive delays and a quarter-billion dollar budget blowout, as the state’s prison population balloons beyond “safe limits”.

News Corp Australia can reveal the Lockyer Valley Correctional Centre – set to be Queensland’s biggest prison – will now not open until mid-2025.

The 1536-bed facility was originally due to have been completed between 2022-23, and had previously targeted an opening by the end of 2024.

The delays come as Queensland’s prison population has almost doubled in the last decade.

Labor MP and Opposition corrective services spokesman Glenn Butcher said the state’s jails were full and were operating beyond “safe limits”.

Corrective Services Minister Laura Gerber said the former Labor government had “failed to act” to address the pressures on Queensland’s corrections systems. Picture: Supplied

Corrective Services Minister Laura Gerber said the former Labor government had “failed to act when action was needed”.

“The Lockyer Valley Correctional Centre was needed a decade ago to address the pressures on Queensland’s corrections systems,” she said.

“Incoming government briefs expose that, despite knowing the corrections system was critically overcrowded, the former Labor government failed to act.”

As of October, there were 10,854 prisoners in jails across the state, living out of 7602 cells, Queensland Corrective Service figures show.

Ms Gerber said delays to the facility had resulted in critical overcrowding, “risking the safety of corrections staff and the community”.

Costs on the project have also blown out from an initial estimate of $618m to $885m.

Mr Butcher said the cost blowouts were not unique to this project.

A look inside the Lockyer Valley Correctional Centre, which is under construction for the Queensland Government by contractor John Holland. The facility is due to open in mid-2025.

“Every project not only in Queensland but across the country has had cost escalations due to rising costs,” Mr Butcher said.

He said initial delays to the project were due to issues with the contractor, John Holland, at the time, and said the facility – which was 99 per cent built – was “very close to commissioning”.

Once operational in mid-2025, the Lockyer Valley Correctional Centre will provide prisoners with drug, alcohol and mental health rehabilitation services.

The facility, unlike traditional prisons, features cells with increased natural light and windows without metal bars.

The prison is expected to employ 800 people, however, the department has previously said it was “struggling with recruitment”.

Shadow corrective services minister Glenn Butcher said Queensland’s prisons were full and were operating beyond “safe limits”. Picture: David Clark

Mr Butcher said he was not aware of there being any staffing problems in the state’s prisons, but urged the government to “keep recruiting” to ensure jails were adequately staffed.

“We need to keep that training going and making sure we get the people that we need for facilities into the future,” he said.

“(Prisoner) numbers are going to stay the same, if not rise, particularly with the new laws … that means more prisoners so we are going to need more staff.”

Ms Gerber said the government was “committed to delivering” the prison and was “working with the builder”.

John Holland declined to comment.