Hermosillo, Mexico - The Mexican government inaugurated a new federal prison featuring state-of-the-art technology in the northern Mexican state of Sonora, the first penitentiary built with the participation of the private sector.

Federal Prison No. 11 in Hermosillo, the capital of Sonora, "marks a strategic advance in transforming the federal penitentiary system and in strengthening the country’s security," President Felipe Calderon said during the prison’s inauguration Tuesday.

The prison, which will start operating at the end of this year, sprawls over 247 acres and has the capacity to house 2,500 inmates under the tightest security standards. The facility has the potential to eventually house up to 4,000 inmates.

The penitentiary cost over $325 million to build and also features automated controlled entrances and a hospital with advanced laboratories.

It features cutting-edge technology, including 1,200 security cameras, X-ray equipment, scanners, gear to detect the molecular presence of drugs, biometric readers to monitor people entering and leaving the facility, and equipment to block telecommunications signals, Calderon said in his speech.

"The most important thing is the people who run this prison. Professional, reliable, trained in accordance with the prison model we implemented in this administration," the lame-duck president added.

The National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), Mexico’s equivalent of an ombudsman’s office, warned in a recent report of the problems in the prison system. "Mexico’s prison system is in the midst of a crisis caused by government neglect of inmates, a situation reflected in the escapes, fights, and other problems plaguing penitentiaries."

"The state provides enormous resources for fighting crime and arresting criminals, but it practically abandons inmates once they are in prison," CNDH chief Raul Plascencia said during the presentation of the 2011 National Penitentiary Management Oversight Report.

"No public security policy will yield results if it does not address and deal with the situation inside the prisons," Plascencia said.