The ad hoc committee advising Zane DeSilva, the Deputy Premier, on affordable housing made taxpayer-funded visits to only two of nine overseas firms under consideration for multimillion-dollar government contracts, it can be revealed.

A public access to information disclosure from the Ministry of Housing and Municipalities lists trips by committee members to meet with Preconco Ltd in Barbados and Coastal Precast Systems in Virginia, United States, in February, at a cost of $16,588.

The companies were soon after awarded no-bid contracts by the Bermuda Land Management Corporation for Phase 1 of the Government’s ten-year affordable housing scheme.

The Pati records shared with The Royal Gazette do not list expenses for any visits to the other seven foreign firms who were in contention for Phase 1, although housing minister Mr DeSilva told a public meeting in June he went to Canada to speak with the owner of Stack Modular.

The minister was specifically responding to a question at the meeting from Stack’s on-island agent, Elliott Wilson, who claimed the firm could provide 974 units for an estimated $258 million — a “much lower price” than the estimated $418.5 million in the Government’s Affordable Housing Strategy Consultation.

Mr DeSilva said: “I think he, as an agent for a building system, he knows I have talked to the owners of that same system.

“I went to visit them myself in Canada, on my dime, by the way, not the taxpayers. My dime. I went to visit them.”

A housing ministry spokeswoman later told the Gazette: “The minister wishes to clarify that during his visit to Canada, undertaken at his own expense, he visited and met with representatives of Z Modular, not Stack Modular.”

She added: “The minister's comments at the town hall meeting were intended to illustrate that he has made personal efforts to better understand a range of modular-construction approaches and affordable housing solutions available in the market.

“In referring to his visit, he inadvertently referenced Stack rather than Z Modular.

“The minister did not state that government was pursuing Stack Modular for the affordable housing project, nor did he represent that he had met with Stack’s ownership.

“The broader point remains that the minister has taken a proactive interest in exploring housing solutions, both locally and internationally, as part of Government’s efforts to address Bermuda’s housing challenges.”

The spokeswoman was asked for the specific date of Mr DeSilva’s visit to Z Modular but did not provide it.

She said: “Minister DeSilva visited Z Modular in Woodstock, Canada, in February 2026.

“During the visit, he met with Z Modular representative Nate Arnold.

“The meeting was arranged as part of the minister’s personal travel and provided an opportunity to learn more about modular-construction approaches and affordable housing solutions.

“As the minister previously stated at the town hall, he personally funded his travel and there was no cost to the public purse associated with the visit.”

The Gazette’s Pati request asked for records relating to the affordable housing plan, including details of any public funds spent already on the first phase.

One of the disclosed documents showed Phase 1 expenses up to July 8 this year, amounting to $810 for radio adverts on the draft strategy and $10,654 for community meetings.

Also shown was $16,588.49 in expenses — paid for by the Bermuda Housing Corporation — for Phase 1 visits to Preconco in Barbados and CPS in Virginia in February by AHAC members Andrew Dias, the chief executive of the BLMC, and the BHC’s Mark Melo, Keino Furbert-Jacobs and Lakila Bell.

The document listed a payment of $50,000 on June 4 to CPS and of $2,707,290 on July 6 to Preconco, ahead of them starting work on the scheme.

A separate record, titled “Log of Meetings Held by AHAC”, listed eight companies, including CPS, Preconco, Stack and Z Modular, and online or in-person visits with them from November 2025 to March this year, including with Z Modular on March 25.

Minutes from a March 13 meeting of AHAC, also released under Pati, show that Z Modular was “seeking meeting when on island. Agreed to meet and potentially route to BEDC [Bermuda Economic Development Corporation].

“Team is firm that no other contractors are to be considered for Phase 1.”

The Government’s draft consultation on affordable housing was released on May 5 and closed for feedback on June 12.

Mr DeSilva told Parliament on May 29 that Preconco and CPS had been identified as “premier partners” to deliver homes in Dockyard, St David’s and Southampton.

He said financing was “fully secured through Bermuda Commercial Bank and Clarien Bank Bermuda, backed by a government guarantee.

“The total estimated investment for this initial phase is $114,750,000.”

The housing ministry spokeswoman said in August that the BHC and BLMC were the entities “responsible for their respective procurement and contracting processes, and any decisions are made in accordance with their applicable governance frameworks and statutory responsibilities”.

The Gazette has asked the Ministry of Finance for more information about the guarantee for BLMC but did not receive a response by press time.