Steve Nackan, Aecon Concessions president, has defended the decision not to put the airport project out to tender in a Canadian newspaper.

Speaking to the Toronto Star, Mr Nackan said that the lack of tendering had been an element of contention with the controversial project.

Such a process would not have worked in Bermuda due to its size, he said.

He is quoted as saying: “It is very difficult in the airport market to tender a project on any airport that has less than a million passengers.

“Typically, those tenders are not viable or they fail.”

Mr Nackan also told the newspaper that Aecon was selected because it was “essentially ideally suited to helping out with a project that needed both financing and construction services”, adding that the island does not have the capacity to borrow further to build the airport.

On the subject of Bermudian jobs, he said that while Aecon would hold the lease for 30 years, the staff who work at the existing terminal would have jobs at the new terminal, and local labour would be used in the projects construction.

He told the Toronto Star: “Fundamentally, the Bermudian people who currently operate their terminal will continue to operate it with support from us.”

Mr Nackan further said the terminal would be state-of-the-art, describing it as “probably the most modern in the Americas”.

The recently published article also noted the recent protests and the clash between demonstrators and police outside Sessions House, including quotes from statements released by police and both political parties.