In view of the rapid development of the society, the Macao government drew up a plan for a new prison at the beginning of the 20th century. The construction work began in 1904 and lasted for 5 years or so. The prison was finally put into use on 5 September, 1909.

This prison, originally called ¡§Central Prison¡¨ or ¡§City Jail¡¨, was located in the urban area of today¡¦s Macao peninsula, where it used to be a desolate and wild place 90 years ago.

On account of the overcrowding problem and inadequate facilities of ¡§City Jail¡¨, a new prison ¡V ¡§Coloane Prison¡¨ was under construction in 1988 at the site of the former ¡§Kuong Heng Tai¡¨ Firecracker Factory near the ¡§Coloane Juvenile Prison¡¨, and was completed in 1990.

For special security reasons, a special imprisonment zone, attached to ¡§Coloane Prison¡¨ and located next to the Academy of Security Forces, was put into service in 1999, whose function was to imprison inmates requiring special supervision or in custody. On the day of the Macao handover, ¡§Coloane Prison¡¨ was officially named ¡§Macao Prison¡¨.