State Treasurer Kevin Foley announced the measure in a speech to the House of Representatives yesterday. He said the Government had commissioned new dates for the prison with the following amendments:

- 2013-14 for the new mens’ and womens’ prisons.

- 2013-14 for the Forensic Mental Health Centre.

- 2011-12 for the Secure Youth Training Centre and Pre-Release Centre.

This extends the prison’s timeline by two years, and the mental health centre by three.

Mr Foley said the Government recognised the revised timelines would result in demand on existing facilities.

“The Government will address this through constructing additional cell capacity,” he said.

“The additional cell capacity of 160 beds will require an investment of $30 million across 2010-11 and 2011-12 plus associated operating costs.

“These will be permanent new structures within regional facilities that will provide enhanced capacity into the future, even when the State takes delivery of the new prisons and secure facilities.”

The expansion at Mobilong was to create a mens’ prison with a total of 760 beds, and a 150-bed womens’ prison.

Worth $500 million to the Murraylands region, it will be the first prison in Australia to have both mens’ and womens’ prisons on the same site and was due to be complete by 2010.

The Murray Bridge council had recently commissioned Tailem Bend’s Dynamic Project Delivery to produce a report investigating the social impact of the prison on Murray Bridge’s infrastructure and community services.