Axios: Trump's idea to rebuild Alcatraz could cost $2 billion. There are three options
Alcatraz Prison (Photo: EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO)

U.S. President Donald Trump's idea to turn Alcatraz back into a maximum security prison could cost $2 billion. This was reported to Axios by a source in the administration.

According to him, Democrats ridiculed the plan, but Trump is determined. Administration officials have already visited the construction site several times and calculated the preliminary cost of the project.

In particular, on July 17, US Attorney General Pam Bondi and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum visited the island. Bondi's unit oversees the Bureau of Prisons, which will manage Alcatraz. And Bergum's agency owns the land and, through the National Park Service, manages the facility, which has been a tourist attraction since 1973.

Two Trump administration officials said the US president has not yet made a final decision, but is considering three main options:

→ a supermax prison complex that will cost $2 billion. This requires demolishing all the old buildings and rebuilding the prison buildings.

→ a smaller prison that will not occupy the entire island, costing $1 billion.

→ put the project out to tender for private contractors to build and operate the prison. But this option is the least likely, the interlocutors say.

"We are still at the initial stage. We need much more research, much more specifics before the president makes a decision. But $2 billion may be too much for him," the sources said .