Late Health Minister Nelson Bascome was credited with making the redevelopment process of King Edward VII Memorial Hospital transparent and fair.

Over the years critics have questioned the way some capital projects have been handled and tendered, but there have been no complaints over the current process.

The construction of the new hospital is expected to cost about $260 million while upgrades to the existing King Edward VII Memorial Hospital will cost an extra $55 million.

The redevelopment project is the Government's first foray into Public Private Partnership, a model where a private party provides a public service or project and assumes substantial financial, technical and operational risk in the project.

Since it was announced the Bermuda Hospitals Board, which is managing the project, has provided regular updates throughout the process through the media, its website and public forums.

The communication started before the tender process began and has continued since Paget Health Services, the private consortium, was chosen last month.

Herman Tucker, Chairman of Bermuda Hospitals Board, said: "In the early stages of this project, the late Minister for Health, Nelson Bascome, set clear expectations on how the project was to be governed and communicated.

"He recognised that not only was this one of the largest construction projects Bermuda had undertaken, but it was the country's first public private partnership. Governance had to be robust and accountable.

"Additionally, as a flagship project using this procurement model, he believed we had a duty to ensure people understood this new way of delivering a major construction project.

"He felt that regular and clear communications would give people in Bermuda comfort and insight about how hospital money was being managed."

Mr. Tucker said Walter Roban, who is now the Health Minister, has maintained the same expectations of accountability, transparency and fairness.

He added that the BHB was "grateful for Government's trust" in them to manage the process.

"We hope people feel informed about the process and the project itself," he said. "As we move through the planning process, contract signing and into the construction phase we will continue to keep the community well-informed of every milestone."