Bermuda Party, a Minister has claimed.

And a major reason for the positive outlook is that Government has a bright and excellent plan for the future.

One area where progress was being made was Bermudianisation of Airport staff.

Transport and Aviation Services Minister Wayne Furbert shared these statements during the debate on his Ministry's budget allocation in Parliament yesterday.

Mr. Furbert said Government had done a feasibility study on the Airport and it planned to make TCD more user friendly.

Since 1995, he said, Government had taken over the running of the Airport which cost $15 million last year.

Nonetheless, he said progress was being made in the area of Bermudianisation of the staff. A Bermudian management team was currently receiving the necessary training both locally and overseas and the General Manager's position would be advertised with a view to attracting a suitably qualified Bermudian.

Mr. Furbert said that the construction in the Airport arrivals and departures' lounges was now done and the work on the retail concessions was progressing well.

Plans were underway to upgrade the passenger terminal and the long term car park would be relocated so that it was closer to the Airport arrivals hall.

Also improvements to the runway would continue.

Additionally, he said many of the light fixtures at the Airport would be remodelled so that they made better and more efficient use of electricity.

There would also be an elevator in the US departure lounge so the elderly and those with physical disabilities would be able to use it.

Mr. Furbert said that landing fees charged to aircraft -- $1,360 per plane -- rated favourably when compared to Bermuda's competitors (Cayman Islands $2,000, Jamaica $1,500).

Meanwhile, Shadow Transport Minister Dennis Lister assailed the suggestion that the UBP had shown good management of the Transport Ministry. He said that this year's budget was an election budget.

And while the Government took great delight in praising itself for work done in the Ministry it was clear that the UBP had mismanaged the Ministry.

For example, he pointed to the lack of an elevator in the US departure lounge.

He said there should have been one there already.

And he said that he was concerned that the landing fees charged to aircraft were constantly going up. The effect has been that the airlines now sent smaller planes which had a negative effect on the amount of cargo that the aircraft can carry.

This again was another example of Government short-sightedness and mismanagement, Mr. Lister said, because smaller planes brought fewer visitors as well.

PLP MP Leon (Jimmy) Williams , meanwhile, said that he was impressed with the arrivals lounge and its colourful interior but he wanted to see a purpose built terminal constructed.

And Reginald Burrows (PLP) also joined in and called on Government to construct a purpose built terminal but Mr. Furbert heaped scorn on the idea because he said the $151 million price tag was prohibitive.

Mr. Furbert went on to say that the departments of Marine and Ports and the Public Transportation Board were going to be integrated under the Transport Authority.

The Transport Minister said the PTB had become a genuine mass transportation company that made 4000 trips last year and carried more than 36 million passengers.

Five more buses would be purchased and they would have air conditioning and advanced safety features.

Meanwhile, Mr. Furbert said that the Island's Shipping Registry had benefited from Hong Kong's reverting back to China because it had meant that many former Hong Kong registered vessels were now on the Bermuda Registry.

Mr. Furbert also lauded the achievements of the Island's search and rescue team that was capable of an emergency response to any distressed vessel within 30 miles of the Island.

Mr. Lister, however, shared somewhat Mr. Furbert's overview of the PTB but he said he wanted to see more preventative care taken of the bus fleet so that fewer vehicles would have to be taken off the road for service.

And he said that west end residents were often left stranded because tourists took the available spaces on buses. A better solution would be for the PTB to increase the numbers of buses during the tourist season so that this happened less frequently.

Turning to Marine and Ports, Mr. Lister said he had learned of mechanics at Dockyard being forced to work to service boats -- but they had to work in appalling conditions.

The mechanics, he alleged, were forced to purchase specialist tools out of their own pockets to fix Government vessels. But Mr. Furbert denied this claim and said that Government purchased whatever specialist equipment was needed.

The workers often had their own tools which they used as well he added.

Ministry of Transport and Aviation Services 1998/99 estimates Ministry responsibility: To supervise transportation systems in Bermuda.

Budget estimate: $41,537,000(last year $39,756,000) Budget allocations Marine and Ports Services $9,622,000 Airport Operations 15,738,000 Transport Control Department $1,837,000 Public Transportation $12,105,000 Transport Headquarters $311,000 Civil Aviation $1,924,000 Wayne Furbert