Mr Brown said the jail was helping Nowra to "grow and prosper" in the midst of an economic downturn.

On average there are 180 workers on site each day. That is expected to grow to more than 300 as construction peaks next year.

On completion, the jail would employ more than 200 full-time workers and inject $10 million a year into the Shoalhaven economy, Mr Brown said.

The Shoalhaven was controversially chosen as the home for what is to be the Illawarra region's jail.

In 2005 the State Government invited the region's five councils - Wollongong, Shellharbour, Kiama, Shoalhaven and Wingecarribee - to bid for the 500-bed facility. All but Shoalhaven passed on the opportunity.

Last year the Stop Shoalhaven Jail Now group threatened civil disobedience in a bid to halt the development.

Asked if he thought other councils had missed an opportunity, Mr Brown said "you'd have to ask them".

"It is benefiting the broader area ... there are more than 70 subcontractors and suppliers from the Illawarra and South Coast working on project.

"I'm not too fussed where it was in the Illawarra, as long as it wasn't in the central north or the west of NSW, areas I was competing with for this project."

The original tender was for construction of a $130 million 500-bed centre. Richard Crookes Constructions was chosen to build the centre at South Nowra.

Before Christmas the project team was instructed to increase the inmate capacity from 500 to 600 beds, increasing the project cost to $150.8 million.

Mr Brown hosted a number of Country Labor MPs on the site yesterday as part of a tour of the Shoalhaven, although the Nowra site actually belongs to the neighbouring South Coast electorate of Liberal MP Shelley Hancock.

On Thursday, the MPs toured the Manildra Group's ethanol plant in Bomaderry.

The plant, which produces ethanol from grain and starch waste, employs 250 people. A $200 million expansion now underway will secure another 25 permanent jobs and 150 construction jobs.

The Manildra plant, the largest ethanol producer in Australia, has benefited from the NSW Government's mandated ethanol content in fuel and will continue to benefit as levels increase.

Mr Brown said Country Labor was more than just a token name.

"We meet independently of other MPs to focus on rural issues ... Manildra is one of our biggest success stories," he said.