Final Tender Awarded for New Jail

The province is creating good jobs and investing in the economy by building the province's newest jail, the Northeast Nova Scotia Correctional Facility.

Bird Construction, a national company based in Toronto, has been awarded the construction tender to build the jail in Priestville, Pictou Co. Construction will begin in a few weeks.

"I am very pleased we are ready to begin construction of the new correctional facility," said Justice Minister Ross Landry. "This is a significant project for Pictou County, and Nova Scotia as a whole. We are on track to open a modern, safe and secure facility for the public, staff and offenders."

Bird Construction had the lowest bid of seven pre-qualified general contracting companies. This is the third and final tender awarded for the project. The landclearing and site preparation work has been completed.

The new 81,000-square-foot, 200-bed facility will be open in mid-2014 and replace aging facilities in Antigonish and Cumberland counties. It will feature six day rooms, health and dental suites, state-of-the-art closed-circuit tv monitoring, electronic drug detection systems and superior sight lines.

The province is investing $38.5-million in the Northeast Nova Scotia Correctional Facility. It is expected to inject millions of the dollars into Nova Scotia's economy. There will be more than 100 jobs at the facility, 70 of them new positions, as well as jobs created during construction.

For more information, visit www.gov.ns.ca/just/Corrections/NENS.asp .