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Kier to build replacement for Scotland’s largest Victorian prison
Cristina Lago Deputy Editor
Bird’s-eye view of HMP Barlinnie (Image: Thomas Nugent via Wikimedia Commons)
The Scottish government has appointed Kier to deliver a major scheme to replace Scotland’s largest prison, the 143-year-old HMP Barlinnie.
The new prison, HMP Glasgow, will have a capacity of 1,344 inmates and will be completed in 2028.
Kier has been on site since October 2023 carrying out early works to remediate the complex brownfield site, which once housed a gasworks, for the main construction process.
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The £683.8m contract is the latest in Kier's prison portfolio, which includes HMP Millsike in Yorkshire and HMP Five Wells in Wellingborough, both of which were built using a houseblock design manufactured offsite.
HMP Barlinnie, in the northeast of Glasgow, was constructed in 1880 and is considered the most complete surviving example of a 19th-century prison in Scotland.
Its infrastructure was deemed not fit for purpose by HM Inspectorate of Prisons in a report released last year, a finding which “emphasised the importance of a new prison”.
Rebecca Boundy, public sector director at Kier Construction, said: “Using the latest techniques and modern methods of construction, we will harness the very best of our team’s significant experience in the justice sector to provide a high-quality, more efficient prison for Scotland which has rehabilitation at its core.”
Justice secretary Angela Constance said: “HMP Glasgow is a bold vision for the future of our prisons that will help reduce reoffending and deliver a considerable economic boost for the city and beyond.
“The new modern establishment will replace a Victorian-age prison that is no longer fit for purpose. It will increase prison capacity and transform how prisoners are rehabilitated, as well as considerably improving staff working conditions.”
The January/February 2026 issue of Construction Management magazine is now available to read in digital format.
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