The newly published airport development agreement means the Bermuda Government has “put the Island out to any bidder, not even the highest bidder”, according to the Shadow Minister of Transport.

Lawrence Scott warned the 33-page document’s lack of specifics could threaten Bermudian workers’ jobs down the line.

“There’s a lot of smoke and mirrors and a lot of unanswered questions,” Mr Scott said. “Then the more answers we get, the more questions there are.”

The deal, struck between the Government and the Canadian Commercial Corporation, will involve LF Wade International Airport being replaced by a new $249 million facility.

Among the perks granted to CCC and its subcontractor, construction firm Aecon — collectively referred to as Project Co — will be an exemption from the employer’s share of payroll tax and customs duties on capital items such as construction materials.

A minimum revenue guarantee also means that if annual income does not reach projections over the 30-year contract, the Government will make up the difference.

Mr Scott called the guarantee “very troubling”.

He added: “Let’s say, for whatever reason, the Government came to its better senses and said right now is not the time to build an airport, let’s focus on education instead.

“Then if a Progressive Labour Party government comes in five or ten years down the line and decides to build an airport, Project Co has to be the one to build it.

“This has committed not just the present government, but any and every government down the line to going along with this, even if they found a better deal.”

Mr Scott also expressed concerns over the contract’s Airport Personnel Transition Plan, which will see airport employees transferred to either Project Co, a new quango or Bermuda “on terms and conditions which, taken as a whole, are no less favourable than such employees’ existing employment terms and conditions”.

The agreement said: “Subject to applicable laws (including labour relations and collective bargaining laws) and the terms and conditions of the project agreement, Project Co shall have the right to structure the company, Project Co senior management, its employees, its organisation, reporting structures and business operations in a way which it considers appropriate.”

Mr Scott said: “I have a feeling that the workers will initially be given jobs, which won’t necessarily be a transition, and if they don’t like the job they’ve been given, they’ll basically be let go. Then it won’t be the Government that causes these Bermudians to lose their jobs, it’s a private entity.

“Also, will they get the same retirement benefits? Will they get the same pay? That’s troubling to me, and it will be to others as well.

“The deal as a whole has issues. The PLP’s proposal is to create an airport authority first, then bring Aecon on board as a subcontractor, not the owner and operator.

“That way, the Bermudians who work there now would essentially be undisturbed.”

Bob Richards, the Minister of Finance, on Tuesday championed the “substantial advantages to the Government’s course in this redevelopment project”.

He added: “Not the least of benefits is the ability to work with the triple A-rated Canadian Government and obtaining guarantees against cost overruns, shoddy workmanship and time delays.

“These have been the biggest issues plaguing Bermuda’s history of infrastructure development, and it has cost the taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars in unnecessary expenditure.

“It is time for that to stop. We are today, and for the foreseeable future, paying for the sins of the past.

“But we are on a course towards getting Bermuda back to the days of a balanced budget. Even then, our work will not be finished. We will still have to find additional revenues after that to pay off a multibillion-dollar debt.

“This means it is crucial that we exercise prudence in our fiscal policy. This project is just one aspect of that strategy and notably, it does not impact the treasury and add millions of dollars more to the Government’s debt.”