Jacobs Engineering Group has recently announced it was appointed to provide a variety of services for the new Grafton Prison PPP project in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. The new facility will be built at Grafton, on the state's north coast.

The facility, which is expected to accommodate at least 1000 beds, is part of US$927 million investment in NSW correctional services. The new facilities are designed to improve rehabilitation efforts and better accommodate inmate population, mitigating the need for offenders to be transferred to alternative regions. The facility is expected to be operational in 2019.

Working for the NSW government, Jacobs's main tasks will be as security technical advisor and engineering technical advisor and also is a sub-consultant to the lead technical consultant, the architect firm NBRS+Partners.

Jacobs is also providing more than ten different technical studies supporting the environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Grafton facility.

  Patrick Hill, Jacobs Senior Vice President Buildings and Infrastructure, said:

“We are proud to be involved in this important correctional centre as both technical advisor and environmental consultant. Our extensive experience on PPP correctional facilities complements our local environmental knowledge, following our involvement on projects such as the Woolgoolga to Ballina Pacific Highway Upgrade. We look forward to once again contributing to the local community in this capacity.”