Surrey will be home to a new 180-cell remand centre to be built in the city's justice district at King George Hwy. and Hwy. 10., A-G Kash Heed said yesterday.
The facility will be an expansion to the existing pre-trial centre and be linked by tunnel to the provincial courthouse and the municipal RCMP detachment.
Heed said a series a variables, such as zoning and environmental impacts, were used to select Surrey over competing municipalities Delta and Vancouver.
"Surrey came forward wanting this centre," Heed said.
Surrey stands to gain up to 250 construction jobs, 175 full-time jobs and about $800,000 in grants.
The provincial government earmarked $185 million to expand correction facilities across B.C. Heed did not say how much would be spent to complete Surrey remand centre by 2013.
Burnaby rejected B.C. Liberal plans to build a remand centre at the former youth detention centre on Willingdon Avenue over safety concerns.
Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts will field such concerns though consultations with a citizens' advisory board.
"Typically safety hasn't been an issue but whatever arises we'll absolutely address," she said.
