Bob Richards faced streams of questions from concerned One Bermuda Alliance members at the airport redevelopment meeting last night.

One source at the meeting said about 15 people took turns to quiz the finance minister, most of whom aired reservations.

“I don’t think those qualms were alleviated, but we did have explanations,” said the source. At one point, an audience member expressed his fears at what would happen if the deal with Canadian developer Aecon was to go wrong. Acknowledging the man was upset, Mr Richards stressed that the island needs a new airport, and that the proposed arrangement is the only way to do it without putting it on Bermuda’s bank balance.

The source said that 40 or 50 OBA members attended the meeting, adding: “As we entered the building people were screaming and shouting at us and getting in our face, saying ‘we don’t need an airport’.”

The meeting, which lasted more than an hour, was said to have been informational, although Mr Richards told the group he could not reveal all the facts as the contract is still not finalised. That should change by the end of the summer, he said.

The minister underlined the necessity for the development, saying that otherwise it would cost more than $100 million in renovations that would still not adequately fix some of the airport’s existing problems.

Aecon and the Government will eventually have a profit-sharing agreement, Mr Richards said.