Consent to allow the leasehold sale of Government land to allow 54 affordable homes for first-time buyers to be built at Southside has been requested in Parliament.

Giving his first parliamentary speech as the new Works and Engineering Minister, Dennis Lister sought a resolution for approval for the Bermuda Land Development Company to sell 2.52 acres of land at Southside for $3.8 million to Trinity Construction Limited.

In turn the company will lease the new homes out for a maximum period of 120 years.

Eighteen three-bedroom homes and 36 two-bedroom homes are planned and will sell for between $450,000 and $525,000.

The scheme was revealed earlier this year by Housing Minister David Burch.

It is anticipated the deal will enable young couples to buy their own property.

And the sale of land money should assist with financing of other affordable housing projects at Southside, particularly the Harbour View development.

Mr. Lister, echoing the words of Sen. Burch in July, said: "This project represents genuine economic empowerment.

"Those young professionals who struggle to understand why they cannot afford a home need look no further.

"Making homes available to first-time buyers, at prices that are simply unavailable in the ordinary marketplace, represents the 'hand-up' that honest, hard-working young Bermudians need and expect."