The Bermuda Land Development Corporation (BLDC) still aims to become financially self-sufficient in 2003, said Minister without portfolio Neletha Butterfield in the House of Assembly on Wednesday.

Speaking for Housing Minister Col. David Burch during the Housing budget debate, Ms Butterfield said the BLDC's mission was to manage and develop the former Baselands, re-integrating them into Bermuda.

Those Baselands include Daniel's Head, Tudor Hill, Morgan's Point and Southside.

Saying she was very proud of what was happening at the Baselands, Ms Butterfield added that a significant up front cost was needed to complete the BLDC mission. "We are still exploring different development opportunities," she said, aiming to maximise the value of Government investment and "make a significant move towards financial self-sufficiency".

BLDC does not yet generate sufficient revenue to cover all expenses, and so every year is awarded a grant from Government to help alleviate costs.

This year that grant was more than triple in comparison to last year's number, according to Government's proposed budget for 2003.

However, Col. Burch said the increase was simply an effort to reclaim grant money lost in 2002 after the devastating effects of the World Trade Center bombings. In 2001 BLDC was awarded a government grant of $6 million, however that amount was cut to only $1 million in 2002, partly as a result of September 11.

This year that amount has been increased to $3.5 million. "We were not successful in getting them back up to $6 million," Col. Burch recently told The Royal Gazette.

The money, he said, is used for regular operating expenses at Southside. "We are encouraging them to do that (make enough revenue to cover expenses)," he said.

Right now, he added, about 40 percent of the warehouses in the Industrial Park at Southside were rented. "As they get more and more facilities rented, the need for a government grant will diminish."

"The BLDC team is driven to meet these challenges," Ms Butterfield told the House of Assembly on Wednesday. "It continues to strive and open up those opportunities for business, housing and recreation."

UBP MP Allan Marshall (pictured) was concerned about the effectiveness of the BLDC, however. Pointing out that there had been no development at Tudor Hill at all, he also noted that tourism efforts at Daniel's Head had "fallen on hard times", and that development at Morgan's Point was a "major disappointment".

With the huge clean-up bill left behind when the US vacated Morgan's Point, Mr. Marshall said: "At least we have the new ferry stop there," - a ferry stop which he then claimed actually encroaches onto an area that was previously set aside for senior's housing. "It's a 26-acre opportunity gone a-begging," he said.

Southside also needs more focus, he said. "Most of the rental space at Southside is going to Government departments, for example IT ... The money's just circulating, it's not creating private opportunity."