Remediation work at Morgan’s Point has reached a milestone according to Public Works Minister Patricia Gordon Pamplin, with work on two sections of the property now complete.

Ms Gordon Pamplin said yesterday that the announcement means those sections of the property are ready to be handed over to developer Morgan’s Point Ltd (MPL) to start work on a $2 billion luxury tourist complex.

The remainder of the pollution clean-up work is expected to be completed by January 2015.

“There will be the need to clean up some steel remnants from the demolition, which are currently on the Point, and which will be removed as soon as possible,” she said. “In addition, for the Government-retained parcel of property, remediation will continue after the obligation to MPL has been satisfied.

“This site at Morgan’s Point is an ideal venue for the principals to engage in further discussions regarding financing to complete the construction phases, which are intended to ultimately construct two hotels, a boutique hotel in phase one consisting of 235 units and a luxury hotel with 416 keys in a later phase.”

Ms Gordon Pamplin said the remediation work has so far cost around $8.2 million — within the $36 million earmarked for the total remediation work for the site — and has involved six asbestos abatement companies, eight pre-qualified excavation companies and around 50 smaller companies and subcontractors. It total, more than 100 employees have worked on the site.

“This is good news for the construction industry, and will give MPL the opportunity to showcase their property as a venue for consideration should Bermuda be successful in its final bid for the Americas Cup,” she added.

Craig Christensen of MPL said the developers hope work on the first phase will be completed by the end of 2016 and, although he acknowledged that much must be done before ground is broken, the announcement marks a key stage in the project.

“The necessity of having this done is critical as a precondition for financing at Morgan’s Point to get underway,” he said. “The parcels that we are talking about represents some 31.17 acres. The rest of the land is well advanced in terms of being cleaned up as we speak.

“This is really the first stage of the development of Morgan’s Point, and will allow us to accelerate and move forward to develop something of fabulous interest for the betterment of Bermuda.”

He said that in order to complete work by the close of 2016, the developers are looking at “double or triple shifts”, which would significantly increase the number of people hired during the construction phase of the development — as many as 800 or 900 — while the completed resort could employ as many as 300 people.

Asked what would prevent the resort from facing the same fate as resorts which have fallen into receivership in recent years such as Tucker’s Point, Mr Christensen said Tucker’s Point had been attempting to carry $150 million in debt on an 88 room property.

“That just is not sustainable,” he said. “What happened with the capital with respect to property sales is something I don’t know, but I do have to address their design and their concept with respect to how we are going to move forward.”

Mr Christensen acknowledged that the site has been visited by representatives for the America’s Cup and a number of hotel brands, adding that the project has received significant interest from one brand, which he could not identify at this stage due to non-disclosure agreements.

And Ms Gordon Pamplin confirmed that the Ministry of Finance has made a commitment to guarantee portions of the project because it was seen as one of national interest, although she did not know the value of the guarantee offhand.

“It’s important for Bermuda to ensure that this project be able to get off the ground and if the requirement is for a financial guarantee from Government, then that would be a part of getting it done,” she said.