A glimmer of hope has emerged in the looming cement supply crisis after the president of recently renamed Island Cement Limited revealed he has entered into a long-term supply and distribution agreement with a multi-national cement company to supply the Island.

How, where and when Clifton Lambert and his company will set up such a supply operation is not known.

Mr. Lambert is currently off-Island but intends to reveal more details this coming Thursday when he returns.

At the weekend he said he had been involved in moves to set up a cement business for the past year-and-a-half, having initially responded to a Government RFP to develop a second bulk cement operation for the Island at Southside.

Bermuda Cement Company president Jim Butterfield has confirmed that Mr. Lambert has also, in the past, taken an interest in the cement company's plant at Dockyard.

In a statement, Mr. Lambert referred to his company's agreement in principal with a multi-national cement supplier as a strategic alliance, and added: "It will help us to address the rapidly growing needs of the Bermuda construction market."

He went on: "Since responding to a Government RFP (request for proposal) approximately 16 months ago for the development and operation of a cement storage facility, we are very proud to have secured a relationship with a world leader, who operates cement plants, cement terminals, block plants, ready-mix concrete plants and quarries.

"In an international market where the long-term availability of cement is not assured, the realisation of this opportunity has the potential to secure the availability of high quality cement for many years ahead."

The news comes just days after West End Development Corporation broke its two week silence and offered a different insight into events that led to its decision not to extend the lease of the Dockyard site to the Bermuda Cement Company beyond December 31.

According to a "statement of facts" issued by Wedco last Friday the critical breakdown in its relationship with the cement company was caused by a last minute backing out from previously agreed terms and conditions by the cement company — claiming this occurred after repeated negotiations and "good faith" extensions to the company's land lease at Dockyard.

The Bermuda Cement Company is currently up for sale with an intention to cease trading on December 21. Government has bid $250,000 for the company's equipment and supplies in response to the company's own estimates about the value of such items.

However, Mr. Butterfield has since stated shareholders prefer to sell the company as a going-concern and, as such, seek a price of around $1 million dependent on a new operator getting a lease extension from Wedco the Dockyard site.

Wedco had requested the cement company vacate its current site, build a new plant nearby and sell 20 percent of its shareholdings, in return for a 21-year lease. Having initially agreed to the idea, the cement company is now resisting after estimating a new plant would cost up to $15 million

Bermudian-owned Island Cement Limited is the new name of Construction, Design and Development, formed in 2004.