Taxpayers will have to foot the bill for a clean-up of Morgan's Point to make way for the multi-million Jumeirah Southlands resort, it has emerged.

Premier Dr. Ewart Brown told The Royal Gazette that Government is "making steady progress toward a "swap" with developers Southlands Ltd. The brownfield site would be traded for 37 acres of pristine green space on the South Shore, which Government could then turn into a national park.

The trade-off, however, is costly. Morgan's Point is a former US Naval Air Station and is heavily polluted with asbestos, metals, petroleum products and other chemicals. The base land is polluted with 500,000 gallons of jet fuel, while Bassett's Cave has a layer of viscous oil some two feet deep. Any environmental remediation work could cost in excess of $25 million.

In an interview with The Royal Gazette, Dr. Brown was optimistic the land transfer would go ahead. Speaking on the Jumeirah Southlands hotel project, he said: "It looks like there's a good possibility it will end up at Morgan's Point."

But when asked who would pay for the clean-up, the Premier said: "The Government is going to absorb the costs of the clean-up."

An independent report in 1997 by consultants J.A. Jones Environmental Services Company, estimated the clean-up of the 260-acre peninsula at $15 million. Opposition MP Dr. Grant Gibbons, Management and Technology Minister in the mid-1990s, said that when taking inflation into account at five percent, the removal of hazardous waste in 2007 could reach $25 million. He added that remediation work could take "at least a couple of years".

It has also emerged that Government is examining applications for a tender to manage the process. An RFP (Request for Proposals) for 'client representation services' was issued in July.

Kimberley McKeown, acting Director of Sustainable Development, said: "The RFP requires the environmental consultant to provide technical assistance and advise the Ministry on the requirements and best solutions for land and ground water remediation.

"The consultant will also assist in reviewing the remedial action plans (RAPs) which will form the basis of the remediation work on site."

Government will then put out a tender — another RFP, for the specialist clean-up.

Dr. Derrick Binns, Permanent Secretary of Works and Engineering, said the RFP had attracted several "international companies". "They will help us to assess what is there and then develop a remedial action plan for each of the elements found there," said Dr. Binns.

"We want to be sure of what is there before we go out and ask someone to do the clean-up. We are going through the responses and will soon have a recommendation as to who we believe will best assist the Government in managing the process. We have to make sure we do a thorough job and so any harm there is removed."

In Bermuda's draft Sustainable Development Strategy and Implementation Plan (SDSIP), the Sustainable Development Roundtable recommends Government should pay to clean up the brownfield site.

The SDSIP, due to go before Cabinet shortly, says one of Government's objectives is to: "Redevelop Morgan's Point to meet the current economic, environmental and social needs of Bermuda, and thereby save other open spaces from redevelopment."

A land swap with the greenfield Southlands estate would fit into this strategy. However, the SDSIP also recommends "public consultation" on the proposals.

It adds that any developer at Morgan's Point would be advised that "at least 35 percent of all housing provided should be affordable (as defined by Bermuda Housing Corporation)" and that "the entire site should be accessible to the public". The document also recommends sports facilities such as "a public PGA standard golf course".

The document says: "The continuing pressure for development on open space elsewhere on the Island could be relieved by using Morgan's Point. The trade-off is protecting greenfield sites across Bermuda from development, by utilising Morgan's Point which is a 'brownfield' site due to its previous development and resultant contamination.

"To develop Morgan's Point effectively is a multi-million dollar project, which requires significant project management and a wide range of expertise over several years. By putting the process out to tender we can ensure that we get quality submissions from those with the right skills.

"This is similar to the creation of Wedco and BLDC where corporations were formed with clear guidance as to the possible uses for the sites they control."

The Sustainable Development Roundtable, at a meeting in November 2005, concluded: "The SDRT feels strongly that the highest priority for the Morgan's Point property is to clean it up so that it becomes usable.

"The cost and possibly the extent of remediation increases the longer we leave it, and the impact on Bermuda's ecology by essentially ignoring a contaminated site cannot be good.

"If a piece of property elsewhere on the Island is deemed worthy of protection, this protection could in effect be exchanged for the right to develop on the Morgan's Point property, clearly a brownfield site. It is a piece of land that could enable us to save high quality land elsewhere, and protect open space in densely populated areas."

SDRT chairman Arthur Hodgson said: "The Roundtable is interested in clean-up period, as I think the Government is."

Asked about the possibility of a land swap and construction of the Jumeirah Southlands hotel at Morgan's Point, Mr. Hodgson said: "On the basis of the information that we have so far on this issue, it wouldn't be a bad idea."

The Roundtable has also stated: "As the largest piece of unutilised land in Bermuda, Morgan's Point will need to be used wisely."