the next 15 to 30 years, says Finance Minister the Hon. Grant Gibbons.

Dr. Gibbons made the comment at a news conference as he unveiled a "broad use plan'' for four recently-returned military Bases: the US Naval Air Station at St. David's; the US Naval Annex and Tudor Hill facility in Southampton; and the former Canadian Forces Station at Daniel's Head.

"We're very optimistic,'' Dr. Gibbons said. "We think that in the long run there is some extremely good potential here.'' But public and private investment would be needed to bring development on line, he said.

"It's as though you were to inherit an old dilapidated house,'' he said.

"All of the tenants have moved out. You know there's a lot of potential there, but in many respects you're land rich and cash poor.'' The plan -- condensed into a colourful pamphlet which is included as an insert in today's The Royal Gazette -- sets aside land for tourism, recreational, industrial, commercial, high-tech, and residential uses.

It contains few surprises. Much of the Naval Annex is targeted for a top-notch golf course. Houses or a cottage colony are expected on Tudor Hill. More Tourism development is slated for Daniel's Head. And a variety of uses are envisioned at the Naval Air Station, including a public marina, a medical centre, Government offices, warehousing, air-related businesses, a container port, a commercial fisheries centre, a technology park, and a proposed educational/research centre.

The plan is the result of a $398,000 contract awarded to EDAW of London and Barker & Linberg of Bermuda, as well as input from a series of public meetings and the work of a Base utilisation committee, a Cabinet committee, and the Military Bases Transition Office.

Some land at each site is set aside as recreational and open space for the use of Bermuda residents. At the Naval Air Station, a sports park at the western end of the Base has already opened, while more recreational land around Clearwater Beach is expected to be available next summer. There, fitness and cycling trails and a campground could be developed.

At the Annex, a 10-acre tract abutting White Hill Field is to be added to Bermuda's play areas. Parkland is also to surround the residential or tourism development at the 25-acre Tudor Hill site. And the public will still be able to use the beach and park along the north shoreline of Daniel's Head, Dr.

Gibbons said.

More than 100 acres at the Naval Air Station will be banked for future use, he said.

The plan is a guide, but it is not set in stone, said Dr. Gibbons, who has been the main Cabinet Minister responsible for the turnover of the Bases.

"It's not meant to be a detailed or comprehensive plan, but really a foundation on which more detailed and comprehensive development plans can be grafted in the future.'' While development is quickly needed to replace the $50 million a year in foreign exchange earnings the Bases represented, Dr. Gibbons said Government does not want to act too hastily.

"We saw this as very much a longer-term exercise, spanning not the next two years, but really the next 30 years,'' he said.

Now that the plan is out, public comment is sought, Dr. Gibbons said.

And a Bermuda Land Development Corporation will be created to manage, finance, market and develop the Base lands.

The Naval Air Station is expected to provide most of the jobs -- an estimated 2,100 in the next 10 to 15 years. Some of those would not be new jobs but ones shifted from congested Hamilton, where 40 percent of all the Island's jobs are now located.

"We see St. George's very much benefiting from this, as a site for restaurants and businesses that would help service'' the former Base, Dr.

Gibbons said.

The 250-acre Annex, meanwhile, is seen as "the last remaining large site that could be used to balance our Tourism product,'' the Minister said.

Considerable interest had been shown in developing "a top-flight PGA golf course'' which would be "world-ranked.'' A few of the world's leading golf course designers had already made some drawings.

The golf course was among developments that could get under way sooner, rather than later. A development brief and call for proposals could be released as early as January, Dr. Gibbons said.

Part of the Annex could also be set aside for housing or a cottage colony. And a high-speed ferry could link Hamilton with a Southampton golf course, waterfront retail centre, sailing centre, open-air theatre, and entertainment complex. Land at the Annex is also set aside for senior citizen housing. In all, 425 jobs are expected at the West End Base.

Tourism uses are to dominate the 17-acre Daniel's Head site, which is projected to provide 80 jobs. A cottage colony, a diving school, an adventure resort, and a health spa are among the possible uses.