Sri Lanka will expand prison capacity as a long-term solution to overcrowding, a senior minister said.
Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara said the country needs to reduce overcrowding in prisons.
Sri Lanka currently has around 39,000 inmates, including about 21,000 linked to drug-related offences, he said.
Nanayakkara said the prison service has around 1,500 vacancies, as no officers have been recruited since 2022.
The government is now filling those vacancies, he said.
The minister said the government is taking steps to obtain land in the Western Province to build a high-security prison that can house 100 inmates.
Expanding prison capacity is a long-term solution to prison overcrowding, Nanayakkara said.
