The British Government is expected to announce plans to spend more than £200m (€280m) on building a new jail in the North.
The facility is expected to be built on the site of an existing prison at Magilligan Point in Co Derry, despite complaints that it will wreck a beauty spot and damage tourism.
The new jail will be able to accommodate up to 1,000 prisoners, with work beginning within the next five years.
Local SDLP assembly member John Dallat supports the decision, saying Magilligan has an admirable history of re-educating offenders, but Sinn Fein's Francie Brolly says it will desecrate a beautiful coastline.