Justice Secretary Chris Grayling will confirm plans to build the £250million ‘super-prison’ in Wrexham, North Wales.
Work on the project is due to start next year, with the jail opening in 2017.
An artist's impression of the 2,000-capacity 'super-prison' in Wrexham, Wales, that will be announced today
The prison will be built on the 108-acre site of a Firestone rubber factory, which is owned by the Welsh Assembly.
In June, when plans for the prison were first mooted, Mr Grayling said it would help ensure more inmates were locked up at lower cost to the taxpayer.
He said: ‘My priority is to provide enough prison places for those sent there by the courts – and to do so in a way that gives taxpayers the best possible value for money.
‘This will be the first prison in North Wales and a massive boost to the Welsh economy.
‘It will provide around 1,000 much-needed jobs, great opportunities for local businesses and millions of pounds worth of construction opportunities.
‘It will also allow offenders from the region to be held closer to their homes, which we know helps prevent reoffending.
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said the prison will save the taxpayer money
Mr Grayling said the project would also be a boost to the Welsh economy
‘Across the country I am reducing the cost of prison by replacing old, inefficient buildings with newer accommodation that is cheaper to run.
‘This new prison allows us to continue this work while providing a significant and rapid investment in the Welsh economy.’
The average price of a single prison place for one year is £40,000 but in new jails the cost can be less than half that figure. Officials estimate the new jail will eventually save taxpayers £20million a year.
Britain’s biggest prison by number of inmates is Oakwood in the West Midlands which holds 1,605. Next in size are Liverpool and Birmingham jails which each hold around 1,450. Wandsworth prison in South London has 1,300 places.
However the new prison will be dwarfed by Europe’s largest, Fleury-Merogis Prison on the outskirts of Paris, which can hold 3,800 prisoners.
As well as being cheaper, new prisons can provide more opportunities for rehabilitating offenders with purpose-built workshops and training centres.
Prison reform groups have criticised the new prison, warning it could be a ‘warehouse’ which would put the public at risk.
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