The new Araba/Álava North Penitentiary was inaugurated on Wednesday, 21 September, in the presence of Secretary-General Mercedes Gallizo of Penitentiary Institutions, several representatives of Sociedad Estatal de Infraestructuras y Equipamientos Penitenciarios (SIEP), including its chairman, Ángel Martínez Sanjuán, the national government's deputy in País Vasco and other personalities.

Araba/Álava Penitentiary, situated inside the municipal limits of Iruña de Oca and built by FCC, has a floor area of 87,658 m2. Its 720 cells are split into eight 72-cell modules and four smaller, 36-cell modules, making a total of 12 modules.

The new facility boasts a 64-bed infirmary building and several specialized consulting rooms, a secure detention module and a communications building for family and attorney visits.

Special interest has been devoted to blending the penitentiary into the surrounding landscape and promoting socio-cultural and athletic areas, where standard curricula will be taught.

The penitentiary's construction budget came to over 116 million euro. Soon inmates will begin arriving from the old prison in Nanclares de la Oca.