The $48 million women’s prison in Concord that had been plagued by funding troubles and delays was finally unveiled today.

Governor Chris Sununu, Senator Maggie Hassan, Congresswoman Annie Kuster and several Department of Corrections officials spoke at the ceremony today.

The new facility has many advantages over the women’s prison in Goffstown, including more than three times the square footage at 101,000 square feet, a 24-hour nursing staff and access to training in graphic design and culinary arts.

Ron Cormier, administrator for New Hampshire Correctional Industries, said there would also be programs offering braille transcription and warehouse logistics training.

Hassan today said programs like these are known to reduce recidivism.

“It is truly important that we do our work when people come into a correctional facility so that our streets will be safer when they leave,” Hassan said.

Hassan also called out the insufficiency of the Goffstown women’s prison.

“For far too long the outdated and overcrowded women’s prison woefully neglected the needs of women and this is really going to change that,” said Hassan. “And it will mean that we are not only making New Hampshire safer, but also restoring fairness to this corrections system.”

Funding for the new prison was set aside when a 2011 class-action lawsuit claimed training programs at the women’s facility in Goffstown were not equal to those offered at the men’s facility.

Ruth Griffin, who served 20 years on the Executive Council and worked to increase equality between the men’s and women’s prisons, attended the ceremony. “As a councilor, I said, ‘I will not vote for anything for the men’s prison unless the same thing goes to the women’s prison,’” she said.

“I wanted to make darn sure when they built this place that women were going to get the same ability when they leave here and the same opportunity to get that ability,” Griffin said.

Department of Corrections Commissioner Helen Hanks said the new facility will be populated before July 1.

“It’s a long time coming but we’re finally here,” Hanks said.