More US Naval Air Station buildings and systems will be left to deteriorate than Government had originally planned because keeping them up would prove too costly.

Management and Technology Minister the Hon. Grant Gibbons said this week that a Canadian consultants' study found that it would cost $15 million a year to maintain the Base infrastructure that Government initially wanted to keep.

And that "conservative estimate'' by Acres International is on top of $10 million that would have to be spent to repair leaky roofs and make other repairs, he said.

By comparison, the contract to operate the Airport itself -- which many thought would be the largest Base expense -- came in at just over $4 million a year.

The infrastructure contract, which is to go out to tender in about the middle of this month, "could be in some respects a larger contract than the air side'', Dr. Gibbons said.

The huge maintenance estimates sent Government and Acres "back to the drawing board''.

To keep the cost down, "we are now looking at fewer buildings to keep in an active or mothballed state than the one-half to two-thirds we were looking at before,'' he said.

Many more of the 268 Base buildings than originally planned will be "put aside'' -- essentially left as they are, he said. And more than originally planned are likely to be demolished, though demolition itself is a major expense.

The "core package'' will centre on those things essential for air operations.

Power and back-up power, runways, taxiways, runway lighting, fresh water, navigational aids, communications lines, and about 20 buildings connnected with crash, fire and rescue and ground electronics maintenance have to be kept up, Dr. Gibbons said.

Government also wants to preserve, or "mothball'' a huge new $14-million North Atlantic Treaty Organisation hangar completed just as the Americans were about to close the Base. But there is no immediate use for a new NATO jet fuelling system worth close to $6 million. That equipment would cost $200,000 just to mothball, and could be left to deteriorate, Dr. Gibbons said.

Similarly, a salt water system used for firefighting and toilet flushing will likely be "put aside''. With demand sharply reduced on the fresh water supply, it can probably be used for all of those purposes.

Government wants to keep up industrial buildings around Marginal Wharf that can likely be leased quickly, and special buildings like a bowling alley, a medical clinic, and a school. Ballparks, playgrounds, and other recreational areas will also be maintained.

But much of the multi-family housing on the Base will be "put aside'' or demolished, he said.

And the extensive piped sewage system is an example of the dilemmas Government faces, Dr. Gibbons said. The system has to be used in order to keep working, but far fewer people will be at the Base once the US Navy leaves on September 1.

As well as looking for tenants, Government is considering moving some Ministry offices to the Base.

By February or March, Government expects to have hired an experienced main contractor. It will have its own management team as well as sub-contractors.

Dr. Gibbons said the Navy used about 175 people to maintain buildings and systems. Bermuda hopes to use 30 to 60.