The Premier confirmed the Bermuda Government’s purchase of the Park Place building, understood to be the IAS Park building on Hamilton’s Church Street, as a fintech space.

David Burt told Opposition MP Patricia Gordon-Pamplin that the building had been acquired by the Bermuda Housing Corporation acting through the public works ministry.

Mr Burt was speaking during the inaugural Premier’s Question Period yesterday in Parliament on Friday.

Dennis Lister Jr, the Speaker of the House, allowed Opposition leader Jeanne Atherden to start with three questions, while other MPs were allotted one each.

Ms Atherden asked the Premier about the status of a “better deal” for the airport redevelopment that had been promised before the General Election in July 2017.

Mr Burt criticised the Opposition for what he claimed was an airport contract with “unspeakable terms” which made the deal impossible to get out of.

Ms Atherden also challenged Mr Burt to release details on the public-private partnership contract signed by the Bermuda Hospitals Board for the new hospital wing.

Mr Burt said that if he had made any such commitment, he would be “happy to do so”.

He also told the Opposition, in response to Ms Atherden’s third question, that the electronic payment system for payroll tax was expected to come online by July 30.

Neville Tyrrell, a Progressive Labour Party backbencher, asked for the numbers of Bermuda College students that had benefited from additional funding provided by the Government.

Mr Burt said 213 students had benefited and added that the extra support would “absolutely” continue.

The Premier told Michael Dunkley, the shadow national security minister, that he had met representatives of the cryptocurrency firm Arbitrade — but that a $1 million donation from the company, said to have been made in the last week, would have to go through the Fintech Development Fund, which was still being set up.

Christopher Famous of the PLP asked for details from Mr Burt on the progress of a pledge to install wi-fi in all public schools.

Mr Burt said the equipment had been installed in “every single school”, and was being tested for the coming school year.

Mr Burt told MPs in reply to a question from Government Whip Lawrence Scott that 11 funded positions at the Department of Public Transportation had been created after the “underfunding” left by the hiring freeze of the previous One Bermuda Alliance administration.

He said that 19 fintech companies had incorporated in Bermuda, one of which had preceded the PLP Government, with “24 more on the way” after a question from Kim Swan, a PLP MP.

Rolfe Commissiong, a PLP backbencher, asked about road crossings and lighting in his Pembroke South East constituency, heard that 55 locations were in the process of improvements across the island wide, with 16 new crossings to be added.

It was the first Premier’s question period, which will take up a half-hour of House business on the second Friday of each month.