Mt Eden jail contract worth $300m

Serco Group Plc, the UK listed prison and other services company, says its 10-year contract to manage Mt Eden jail is worth about $300 million.

Serco was named as the successful bidder by Corrections Minister Judith Collins in December and signed its contract today.

It will take over running of Mt Eden/Auckland Central Remand Prison in August.

The value of the contract is $100 million less than Serco first flagged to the LSE in December.

It covers prison custodial management, security, prisoner welfare, rehabilitation and reintegration programmes and activities, infrastructure management and logistics, the company said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange.

The facility holds 966 male prisoners

Shares of Serco last traded on the LSE at 551 pence.

The prison is a multi-building facility that accommodates 966 male prisoners, including both remand and sentenced prisoners.

Serco said the prison is a "critical central hub" for the Department of Corrections' northern region and an essential facility for Auckland.

Serco's prison management contracts include Acacia Prison in Western Australia and Queensland's Borallon Correctional Centre as well as prisons in the UK.

The Auckland prison was privately run from 2000 to 2005 before the labour government prohibited the practice.

National reinstated private run prisons, with a law change in 2009 that allowed them on a case-by-case basis.