Uruguay Prison Infrastructure

In Uruguay, there are currently 26 prisons housing more than 13,000 total inmates.  Prisons are currently operating at 130% capacity.  With an imprisonment rate of 369 per 100,000 inhabitants Uruguay’s per capita incarceration rate is one of the highest in Latin America.

To alleviate overcrowding and improve prison conditions, the Ministry of Interior created a 12-point prison reform plan called the “Dignity Plan 2020-2025”.  The plan has three main areas of focus: building improvements, educational/work programs and health and wellness initiatives.  

In the building improvement plan all existing structures will be refurbished with the installation of new video surveillance systems in the country´s main prisons and the relocation of four existing prisons.  In terms of new construction, the plan calls three new standard prisons and a supermax prison. The supermax prison will be located on the site of the current Libertad prison, the most secure penitentiary in Uruguay.  It is expected to house up to 300 inmates and have a project value between USD $18-20 million.  The smaller new prison construction projects are expected to have project values between $7 million to $9 million per facility. 

In June 2015, the Uruguayan Government awarded the first PPP project in the country for the construction of a prison. This contract will be managed by a private consortium until 2042. The new government is not considering  the PPP financing scheme for future projects and is willing to find alternative means to finance these projects. 

U.S. companies involved in the security and construction field sectors are encouraged to contact the U.S. Department of Commerce in Montevideo, Uruguay for more information: Office.Montevideo@trade.gov