the Hon. David Saul says he must get a firmer grip on next year's costs before he can set his Budget.

Management and Technology Minister the Hon. Grant Gibbons could not give a figure last week on what his transition team has spent to date. But he conceded the $2 million that Dr. Saul set aside in the last Budget has been spent.

With the US Navy pulling out of Bermuda, Government must assume control of the St. David's Base and the Airport by September 1.

Figures compiled by The Royal Gazette show that $1.85 million has been spent to date on major contracts alone, with a planning contract that is to be awarded soon expected to cost at least another $250,000.

Government has spent: About $100,000 to have Serco Aviation Services Inc. of Canada assess Airport equipment and help prepare specifications for the Airport contract; $300,000 to have Acres International Ltd. of Canada assess Base infrastructure; $275,000 to have two experts from Airways Corporation of New Zealand help with procurement and technical advice; $480,000 to have RT Environmental Services Inc. of Pennsylvania and Bermudian sub-contractors determine the environmental condition of the Base; and $696,000 to have Pennsylvania-based Unisys and Bermudian sub-contractors outfit a new weather office in the Airport terminal building.

November 1 is the deadline for proposals from planners interested in helping the Base implementation committee. A professional planner who spoke on condition of anonymity said he expected that contract will cost at least $250,000.

Government also must soon award the main Airport contract, which is expected to cost between $5 million and $10 million a year, and a Base infrastructure management contract which could cost more than $1 million a year.

The figures do not include the cost of operating the Base transition office at Corner House, travel costs which have included trips to England and the Caribbean by Dr. Gibbons and other Government officials. Nor do they include less tangible costs, like the full-time and part-time seconding of close to a dozen public servants to the Base transition office.

Though Government has dismissed the figure as an American negotiating tactic, a $140-million pricetag the US Navy has placed on Base assets remains a nagging concern.

As for next year's costs, "a lot depends on what we do and when we do it,'' Dr. Saul said. "I have about three rough estimates, each one being different.

They've got to somehow harden in the next month or two.'' Dr. Saul said he is preparing the 1995 Budget now, and needs a firm handle on Base transition costs in order to complete it. He would not reveal the "rough estimates'' he has received.

"It would be fair to say at this stage we don't have any figures,'' he said.

"Certainly I need them by the time I put the Budget together.'' In July, Dr. Saul estimated the Base takeover would cost between $10 million and $20 million in the next two years and result in spending cuts in other areas.