Investors are hoping Government will make a quick decision and finally select a developer for the former US naval base Morgan's Point, The Royal Gazette has learned.

Plans to transform the empty base in Southampton into a golf, housing, marina and leisure complex have been on hold since 1999 after Government suddenly scrapped an agreement with a group of potential developers.

The long-running dispute over who will pay to clean up the oil pollution left by the Americans is set to end following a bill passed in Bermuda last week.

It paves the way for the US to sign a ground-breaking deal with Britain to finally renounce the right to re-occupy the bases. But Washington will not pay for a clean-up.

The Royal Gazette has learned that two developers which originally vied for the site are ready to get back round the table with Government, which holds the lease for the base.

One of the unsuccessful bidders for the site, Alan Burland of BEAM Ltd., said his group was ready to push ahead with plans if it can get approval from Government.

"I am unable to comment other than to say our team is together and ready to get back to the table," he told The Royal Gazette.

"The matter (of transferring bases and the clean-up) had to be dealt with before they (Government) could sit down with us. It has now been dealt with and we are willing and able."

And Edward Lawrence, whose consortium Morgan's Harbour Investment Limited (MHIL) was selected for the site in 1997, said his group was to go ahead with the project if Government makes a decision.

"We met the minister last year and he announced something was happening with the clean-up. They've now announced a deal with the US and as a group, our project is still viable as something that would be interesting for tourism in Bermuda," he said.

"If it became high priority for Government to develop that land, we would be very interested in talking to them," he said.

There has been no progress on transforming the site since the summer of 1999, when former Development and Opportunity Minister Terry Lister pulled the plug on plans by MHIL because he said he did not want the matter to `remain in limbo' any longer.

BEAM were then given 90 days to fill the void with a viable alternative but did not succeed in getting an agreement.

MHIL had spent $3.5 million in preparation work and were prepared to clean-up the oil pollution.

Some estimates have put the cost of dealing with the pollution at the former US bases as high as $65 million, but this also included the US air base at the airport and Longbird Bridge.

The bill for Morgan's Point, where oil and jet fuel have leaked into Basset's Cave from fuel storage tanks and contaminated the water table, is thought to be around $30 million.

It is thought the clean-up could take up to a year or more and would involve local and overseas environmental experts.

Works and Engineering Minister Alex Scott, who has responsibility for the bases through Bermuda Land Development Corporation, did not return a call to The Royal Gazette for comment yesterday.

The US, while refusing to pay for the clean-up, has offered Bermuda $11 million towards the upkeep of Longbird Bridge in the proposed deal it is expected to sign with the British government to scrap the 1941 Leased Bases Agreement.

In the Senate last Friday, Senate President Alf Oughton suggested the $11 million be put in a special account to be used specifically for the clean-up, rather than transferred to Government's Consolidated Fund.