Seven prisons are to be shut and another two partially closed to save 63 million pounds (over $ 101 million) a year. The ministry of justice says the move will result in the loss of 2,600 places for inmates. But it hopes to build a 2,000-place "super prison" to make up the shortfall, Daily Express reported.
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said: "We have to bring down the cost of our prison system, much of which is old and expensive to run."
"But I never want the courts to be in a position where they cannot send a criminal to prison because there is no place available. So we have to move as fast as we can to replace the older parts of our prison system."
The proposed new jail will be about 25 percent larger than Britain's largest prison, Wandsworth in south-west London. It is expected to be built in either north-west England, London or north Wales.