A subsidy of $50 million of public money will be needed to secure the building of the belated ?lottery winner homes? at the Southside housing project Harbourside Village, it is feared.

The project has been revived by Government after the Bermuda Homes of People group collapsed last September with financial difficulties before 98 lottery winners could buy their homes for a knock-down $199,000.

But having looked at the maths of the Government?s proposed new version of the scheme UBP MP Dr. Grant Gibbons said it would need around $50m to make it viable.

Last week Works and Engineering and Housing Minister David Burch met with winners of the BHP lottery to assure them that work was soon to start on the building of the homes, of which 98 had originally been promised by the now defunct lottery group.

?The Minister spoke about spending $80m to build 108 units.

?That works out at $750,000 per unit, and that is just the construction costs ? there is an additional $30m for the land,? he said.

If the units are sold for the lottery price of $199,000 the Government will have to finance the extra $555,000 per unit, which works out as a subsidy of $50m, according to Dr. Gibbons.

?That?s if you believe the figures the Minister for W&E brought out. There is no indication of how that $50m is going to be procured.

?It is clear the Government is going to have to look at this project.?