8.8 Delays in completion of the New Kimberley Correctional Centre 8.8.1 The construction of the centre has been plagued by a number of delays. The Department has been assured that the facility would be handed over by 15 February 2010 and is committed to completing all transfers to the centre three months thereafter. The Committee hopes that there will be no further delays, and that the Department and offenders will be able to reap the benefits of a centre that is likely to, at completion, cost more than R890 million, as soon as possible. 8.8.2 Delays are ascribed to weather conditions, scarcity of steel as well as labour unrest but the Committee is unconvinced that these could have resulted in a two-year delay in the completion of the facility. Care should be taken to ensure that future projects are not unnecessarily delayed as these delays have huge cost implications for the State. Furthermore, the exact causes of the delay in the New Kimberley Correctional Centre should be investigated, and those responsible should be held accountable.