Bermuda’s construction industry is booming and the pipeline of major projects is growing. This includes hotels, affordable housing projects, seniors housing projects, new-build homes and residential renovations.

Such investment is welcome. Done well, it strengthens our economy and addresses many longstanding housing needs. However, with so many large-scale projects either under way or planned, there is one question that those in charge of our island’s infrastructure need to be asking: “How much can Bermuda realistically build at once?”

The Fairmont Southampton redevelopment is already a major undertaking, especially as it includes a substantial residential component that is not expected to be completed for another 20 years.

The Elbow Beach hotel is proposed for extensive redevelopment. Ariel Sands, which already has approval for a significant hotel, villa and condominium development, has now returned to the planning process with a new application, and the Mid Ocean Club is preparing for a major programme of investment and restoration.

Alongside these tourism developments, government and private developers are trying to tackle Bermuda's critical housing shortage, with large and small-scale housing projects being advanced at numerous sites across the island.

Some of these larger proposed developments include the 24-unit residential buildings for Tommy Fox Village in St David’s, the 36-unit Victoria Place II Village on Cochrane Road in Sandys, and the 110-unit Cann Park II residential development for seniors at Sea Express Lane in Southampton.

These developments are needed but they are huge by local standards and will require a vast amount of construction resources. If they all proceed simultaneously, they would require hundreds of additional construction workers, many of whom would need to be recruited from overseas and who would be competing for rental accommodation alongside people already living here.

There is, therefore, the very great risk that we could find ourselves trying to build our way out of a housing shortage, while the scale of construction itself adds further demand to an already constrained rental market. Greater competition for available units will place further pressure on rents and make it harder for Bermudians, particularly younger people and families, to find suitable homes.

In addition to this, once up and running, new and expanded hotels will also need permanent employees in hospitality, maintenance, landscaping, food service and management. Where those positions cannot be filled locally, additional overseas workers will again require accommodation.

The question is not whether overseas workers should come to Bermuda. They make an essential contribution to our economy. The question is whether we have properly calculated and provided for the additional housing demand that a concentrated period of development and subsequent economic expansion could create.

There would also be severe construction cost implications, with government having to compete with private developers for the same contractors, skilled tradespeople and materials. Large developers may be able to absorb those increases but a Bermudian family trying to renovate a home, create an apartment for an elderly parent or repair a roof may find it much harder to do so.

This is already a problem for anyone trying to build at the moment. Recent Royal Gazette headlines about this issue have included “Cement shortage hits construction industry” and “Concrete crunch hits builders”.

The Government also needs to consider the knock-on effect of all this construction on Bermuda’s broader infrastructure. Our limited road network, much of which is in a bad state of disrepair, will be put under further strain from heavy construction equipment.

There will be more demand for our healthcare facilities and electrical grid which, like our roads, are already under considerable pressure.

Bermuda needs investment. We need hotel beds, housing and the renewal of ageing properties. Construction creates economic activity and can provide excellent opportunities for Bermudians.

We also need careful and strategic management of these major projects to reduce the risk of system overload from too many proceeding at the same time. This would allow all sectors in Bermuda to anticipate demand for construction workers, work permits, rental housing, materials, transportation and infrastructure and respond appropriately. It could also identify the skills that should be developed among Bermudians now, helping to ensure that more of the economic benefits from these projects remain in Bermuda.

A development can make sense when considered on its own and still contribute to a problem when considered alongside everything else happening at the same time.

The question is therefore not whether Bermuda should continue to develop. It is whether we have properly considered the cumulative impact of how much we are trying to build at once and how to manage that impact for the long-term benefit of our island.

• Kim Smith is executive director of the Bermuda Environmental Sustainability Task Force