Government pledged an extra $25 million to tackle Bermuda?s housing crisis in yesterday?s Budget ? but gave little detail of what the cash would be spent on.

The money in the Government?s Capital Expenditure Plan ? which will be followed in 2007 with a further $42 million ? will be used to build hundreds of new homes to rent and sell, as well as extending an emergency housing facility and replacing a homeless shelter.

But those hoping for a breakdown of planned projects in Finance Minister Paula Cox?s statement to the House of Assembly were left disappointed.

Shadow Finance Minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin said: ?It?s like they have tried to nail Jello to the wall.

?The $25 million is a good infusion into housing but the projects are still not really specific.

?We still don?t know exactly what the $25 million is earmarked for.

She added that much more could have been spent on housing if the Government had not overspent on Berkeley Institute.

?While $25 million is a good start, it?s only half of the extra money that they used on the Berkeley project. If they had had more astute management on that, we could have had more housing. What we have got now is a school that?s still mired in controversy.?

Ms Cox mentioned several housing schemes in her speech which had previously been announced by Government, such as Harbourside Village.

And she also alluded to ?advanced negotiations? with several developers to provide affordable housing for sale to first time homeowners.

But details such as where or when the homes would be built were not forthcoming from Ms Cox or from Housing Minister David Burch. Ms Cox told the House there had been ?a significant boost to the budget allocated for building homes for Bermudians? and that the PLP ? through its Social Agenda ? was committed to delivering its mandate in relation to affordable housing.

?For many years the issue of housing has been a ?hot button? topic of discussion in all segments of our community,? she said. ?Government acknowledges that what it inherited in 1998 suggested there had been no singular consensus or coordinated effort to mobilise resources to address the Island-wide housing issues until this Government came into office. ?In demonstrating its commitment to the provision of affordable housing in Bermuda, Government has allocated $25 million in 2006/07 and has planned for an additional $42 million in 2007/08. The only new scheme mentioned in any detail was for 96 affordable homes for first-time buyers ranging in price from $400,000 to $500,000. Sen. Burch later told he expected to make an announcement on that scheme before the end of the month but shook his head when asked to provide information on other possible public/private partnerships with developers.

Ms Cox referred to a previously announced plan to build 330 new rental units before April 2008 for those in lower-income bracket families and said that once those were completed

?Government will have provided housing for over 1,100 Bermudian families?.

Sen. Burch said he could give no details on that scheme, other than that the units would be built across the Island.

Ms Cox revealed the Bermuda Land Development Company has taken over the Harbourside Village mixed housing development, which will have 200 units, half of them affordable, but did not say when construction work would begin.

Sen. Burch admitted there was no date yet pencilled in.

?It hasn?t been to Cabinet yet,? he said. ?I expected it would have been there by now. One of the key people involved had a medical emergency, hence the delay. Once we have Cabinet approval, we can move ahead with it.? Two other previously touted schemes were also included in the Budget. Work will start on a new 200-bed homeless shelter in North Street this year and the emergency housing facility at building 632 in Southside will be extended.