Kier has hosted Scotland's Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Neil Gray, at the HMP Glasgow construction site to review progress on the new prison, marking a significant step forward for the project.

Approved last year, the scheme will deliver safe, modern accommodation for 1,344 people with high standards of decency, care and access to services. The programme has passed a key technical milestone with the installation of the first of 165 prefabricated risers inside the five fully electric, X-shaped G60 residential houseblocks. Mr Gray joined Scottish Prison Service (SPS) and Kier representatives to watch the works progress.

Manufactured off site and delivered as ready-to-fit components, the risers channel utilities into each room and are designed to reduce on-site complexity, improve safety and speed up delivery. The showcase event, run in partnership with prefabrication supplier FES and MMC specialist PCE, demonstrated industrialisation at scale through a Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) approach enabled by close collaboration across the HMP Glasgow Strategic Alliance.

The project remains on schedule for completion in 2028 and is expected to generate £450m of benefits for the Scottish economy, including jobs and contracts for businesses.

Justice Secretary Neil Gray said: "I am very pleased to help mark a key milestone in the construction of HMP Glasgow and to see first-hand how the new prison, which will add 357 more places to the prison estate, is taking shape. This is an investment in our prison system and a safer Scotland. With increased capacity, HMP Glasgow will focus on how prisoners are rehabilitated so they are less likely to reoffend when they are released back into the community."

-- Advertisement --

Matt Collins, operations director at Kier Construction, said: "We are enormously proud of the progress being made at HMP Glasgow. Today's celebration highlights the progress to date and innovative technologies being used to ensure that this complex and critical development is delivered safely on time, to cost and to the highest quality. Alongside that progress, we are focused on creating a positive, lasting legacy - supporting jobs, skills and opportunities for local people, while delivering a modern facility that will play a vital role for communities across Scotland. This is about delivering a modern, rehabilitative facility while ensuring a real, lasting impact."

Linda Pollock, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, said: "HMP Glasgow is not only essential to long-term sustainability of our prison estate, but will also be transformative for those in our care, our staff, and the communities that depend upon it. I am delighted to see the project reach this important milestone and look forward to the continued progress of the new build."

To date, £347.6m has been invested with Scottish supply chain companies. Kier has already exceeded its aim to create 100 construction jobs, with 115 roles generated so far, including 25 opportunities for people with lived experience of the justice system through its Making Ground programme.

The project team has engaged with more than 2,700 young people from nursery through to university and is on track to surpass a £200,000 community support target. So far, £147,800 has been raised via charitable and community donations, in-kind material contributions and initial payments into the HMP Glasgow Community Fund, launched this month.

HMP Glasgow's design is based on small communities to help manage different populations. It is trauma-informed, uses space to support mental health and wellbeing, and will employ technology to free staff for more positive engagement with those in custody.

Given the scale of the build, advanced digital tools are being used to track large volumes of precast and prefabricated elements from design through to installation, improving accuracy and efficiency.

Kier brings experience from other justice schemes, including HMP Millsike in Yorkshire and the multi award-winning HMP Five Wells in Wellingborough, both of which used innovative off-site manufactured houseblock designs. HMP Glasgow was procured through the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) framework.