A developer hoping to transform the empty Club Med site in St. George's warned yesterday that he will walk away unless he gets agreement quickly from Government.

Steve Hostettler, of Stepping Rock Developments in Dallas, Texas told The Royal Gazette he was frustrated by delays in getting an answer and said the Bermuda Government's reputation for indecision will prove costly for the Island.

Mr. Hostettler, who has teamed up with Bermudian Patrick Bean, spoke out after a deadline of the end of October - when he said Government had promised a decision - had passed. His company still has no idea who will get the go-ahead to develop the derelict hotel. Works and Engineering Minister Alex Scott, whose department has responsibility for Club Med, did not return calls to respond to the criticism.

Mr. Hostettler said he did not want to fall into the trap of other businesses which spent a fortune on preparation work for the former Morgan's Point US Naval Base - known as King's Point - only to see the deal to fall through when Government pulled the plug in 1999.

His company - which he says is involved in transport and leisure projects in Mexico, Costa Rica, Greece and Caribbean - planned to rebuild a 160-room hotel on the Club Med site, which has been closed since 1988.

Funding is in place, and part of the plan is to include a world-class health retreat for athletes recovering from injury and also condominiums.

"We were supposed to get an indication in October about Club Med, and that itself had been put off for a few months, but all we want to know is whether we are still in the game, because if it is not Bermuda, we are going other places," he told The Royal Gazette.

"We had requested to the Government that we get a 120-day period that would enable us to put a full project together with the Government that would be a win-win situation.

"Every month that piece of property sits empty it becomes more of an environmental hazard for the Island.

"We are ready to finance, but what the issue comes down to is what is the Government expecting from us in terms of lease, development costs and so on.

"We've already spent a sizeable amount on development costs and until we get some kind of exclusive word we are not going to spend more on development costs, and neither, frankly, is anyone else.

"We know of people who were moving on King's Point, spending an enormous amount of money on master plans, valuations and consultation work for months, if not years, and that money is now gone because the Government would not give an undertaking. We want to make sure we are not caught in the same situation.

"We only need 120 days, which in development terms is the blink of an eye, to do things such as environmental studies and get some hard money prices on the tear down of the hotel."

Mr. Hostettler said his company had also submitted a formal proposal to Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown in June to help develop transportation on the Island, but he hasn't even had a reply.

Dr. Brown said yesterday that he had informed Mr. Hostettler's Bermuda representative, former Airport general manager Marshall Minors, that the company's plans for the Airport were a non-starter.

"In June we put in an official letter to the Minister of Transport seeking to assist the Government with components of transportation, particularly at the airport," said Mr. Hostettler.

"If they didn't want to do it that's OK, they could say 'thank you but we are not interested', but we haven't even heard a single word.

"These kinds of decisions are difficult for us to understand. We had Marshall Minors on board and Eugene Bean of Bermuda Aviation Services was coming on board.

"Everyone was on board and we thought we had an understanding with the Minister of Transport, but we haven't heard anything yet, despite it being a formal request in June.

"This lack of follow-up and lack of decision-making is extremely dangerous for the Island.

"A group like ours won't wait around. It wouldn't be the first we've walked away from a country and it won't be the last."

Dr. Brown said: "He (Mr. Hostettler) probably hasn't spoke to his Bermudian representative (Mr. Minors). The minister said the company had been informed their plans were unacceptable.

"I informed his Bermudian representative as to what I thought of the correspondence I had received and maybe he should check with him before making such statements.

"I told Marshall Minors exactly what I thought about the letter I received. It included a proposal regarding the airport that was totally out the ballpark that would not even be considered at this time."

Mr. Bean, a former BCM McAlpine employee who has worked in the hospitality industry, said: "My people are ready to go and we are just waiting to get verification. If we get it, my people are ready to get moving within a week. All the funds have been in place since August.

"We have Bermudians involved in the project and we want to go the old traditional way of service, give people a bang for their money, everything first class.

"I am young, but I am a go-getter and I'm very familiar with the way things work in the hospitality industry and I have learned a lot from my partner overseas."

In September, Minister Scott said his department would be reviewing proposals for the hotel within weeks and would refer their recommendations to Cabinet for approval.