The former paper manufacturing site at Wesley Vale has been mooted as a potential home for the new jail in Tasmania's northern half.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Ten potential sites were submitted through an expressions of interest process and were being considered, Corrections Minister Elise Archer said.
"I am pleased with the number of submissions and am I looking forward to advancing this substantial election commitment that will drive jobs and investment whilst also improving access to family and support for inmates who live in the north of the state," Ms Archer said.
"A siting panel is now considering submissions received to compile a shortlist of suitable sites.
"It will provide its findings to the government in March 2019.”
It is not clear if the Wesley Vale site will make the shortlist.
The shortlist is understood to be likely to include about three to five sites.
It is believed there has been interest from corrections authorities in the Wesley Vale site.
There is also potential the site will be sold to another party before the prison location is finalised.
Site owner Spicers Limited put it up for sale through a tender process last year.
That process ended in December without a sale.
Spicers chief financial officer Damien Power said the company had been in discussions with interested parties since then.
"A number of parties have inspected the site," Mr Power said.
He would not say if the department had been one of the parties to inspect the site.
The site, about 10 kilometres east of Devonport, includes land and buildings at 226 Mill Rd.
It was built for paper manufacturing in 1969 and closed in 2010.
The site has 56 hectares of land.
The new jail is expected to accommodate up to 270 prisoners.
It is expected to be built in two stages.
The first stage is expected to provide 140 beds and to be operational from late 2022.
Tasmania's established major jail is at Risdon Vale, in the South.
About half of Tasmanian prisoners are from the North-West or North.
The state government invited councils, utility companies, the community and the property sector to take part in the expressions of interest process.
