The Bermuda Government has finalised a document detailing how it will address Britain’s concerns about the $250 million airport redevelopment.

It was due to submit the information to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office by the end of last week, according to the Governor, George Fergusson.

Mr Fergusson, in response to questions from The Royal Gazette , said the Ministry of Finance told him it had completed the document with the assistance of audit firm Deloitte, which identified issues with the airport deal last year in an independent report jointly commissioned by the UK and Bermuda.

The Deloitte report assessed the public-private partnership between the Bermuda Government and the Canadian Commercial Corporation, a Crown corporation of the Government of Canada, which was announced in November 2014.

The agreement gives CCC sole rights to build a new air passenger terminal for Bermuda, with CCC guaranteeing in return to finance the development and deliver it on time and within the agreed budget. Deloitte considered costs, economics and value for money and found several areas of the deal that could be improved.

This prompted the British government to amend an earlier letter of entrustment it had given to Bermuda to enable it to enter into the agreement.

The amended entrustment letter, dated July 17 last year, required:

• the UK and Bermuda governments to agree on the measures needed to address the “deficiencies” in the Deloitte report

• the Bermuda Government to “publish a written and evidence-based assurance that the required measures have been taken, before the contract can be concluded”.

Mr Fergusson said a letter from Bob Richards, the Minister of Finance, confirming the Bermuda Government’s acceptance of the terms of the entrustment letter, was sent to the FCO.

Asked if the British and Bermuda governments had agreed on the measures, the Governor replied: “This process is still under way.”

He added: “The ministry [of finance] has told me that, with the assistance of Deloitte, the Government of Bermuda has recently completed the final form of the ‘Gaps Remedial Measures Proposal’ to be submitted to the FCO for review and approval pursuant to the entrustment terms. This will be submitted before the end of [the week beginning February 22].”

A Ministry of Finance spokesman did not directly answer a question from this newspaper about whether Britain and Bermuda had agreed on how to address the issues in the Deloitte report.

He insisted that Deloitte “identified no deficiencies in their assessment reports on the airport redevelopment plan”.

The spokesman said the British and Bermuda governments had jointly asked Deloitte to identify and assess the project concept, with reference to the UK Treasury’s Green Book on value for money, although Bermuda was not bound by that guidance.

He said the analysis was done at the “concept” stage but critiqued the agreement as if it was a “final business case”, meaning there were “inevitable” gaps.

“Deloitte made it clear in its report that the Government of Bermuda was not yet ready to make a final investment decision and had the opportunity to close the identified gaps before proceeding.”

The spokesman added: “The commissioning of the Deloitte report confirms the Government’s commitment to ensure value for money and project transparency.

“In addition, the Government has committed to inform the public when the gaps — not deficiencies — have been satisfied. That process continues.”

The announcement by the Bermuda Government on November 10, 2014 that it had signed a public-private partnership with CCC was made on the same day Britain issued an initial letter of entrustment.

Correspondence released under freedom of information in Canada last year included an e-mail from airport manager Aaron Adderley to a CCC executive claiming that Bermuda had pushed the UK’s hand to issue the entrustment letter by calling a press conference about the deal.

Britain has responsibility for the external affairs of all its overseas territories, including relations with other governments.

Mr Fergusson explained: “The Government of Bermuda asked the UK Government for a letter of entrustment.

“This was because a legally binding agreement with the Canadian Commercial Corporation, as a Crown Corporation of the Government of Canada, would be a government to government agreement and as such is a matter of international relations.

“Letters of entrustment give specific authority to the Government of Bermuda to engage in international relations — for instance, by signing legally binding international agreements — within the terms set out in the letter.”

Mr Richards, whose ministry is spearheading the project, has said permission from Britain was not needed.

He told the House of Assembly on November 28, 2014 that his ministry had sought legal advice from international law firm Bennett Jones and was told the letter of entrustment was not required.

In May last year, the minister told this newspaper: “We’ve had challenges — the main one has been the UK Government, but we’re working through that.”

Mr Richards claimed the deal with CCC and its subcontractor Aecon was “strictly a commercial transaction”.

But he added that some in the British government viewed the airport deal as “something that falls under the aegis of external affairs, which is their purview”.