Investors looking to commit some $290 million for work at Morgan's Point will wait until after the General Election before making any major moves.

Bermuda Land Development Corporation (BLDC) CEO, Carl Musson, conceded yesterday, "That's clearly true at Morgan's Point. Money is averse to uncertainty. We have an interested party, but they want to know who will be the Government, and who they will be dealing with.'' The Morgan's Point development is the second such plan to be put on hold pending the election outcome. Camberly Hotels, who plan to renovate Club Med in St. George's, has also put the brakes on their multi-milllion refit.

Meanwhile, development and lease agreements are already in place for the Daniel's Head in Sandy's Parish. The project awaits planning approval.

But Mr. Musson expressed concern about bureaucratic red tape when it came to the local regulatory process in general.

He said, "I know there are objections to the plan that have been submitted to Planning. But if it isn't approved, my concern is the message that it will send about Bermuda.

"Our deal was that there was a deadline at the end of January for Planning approval. If not, the deal is off.

"We have already been picking up messages from US business people, who are saying that Bermuda is not an easy place to get some things done. Especially for a tourism resort, it's hard to get things through the regulatory process.

"If our approval process takes a long time, and then at the end, an application is rejected, it sends the wrong message to potential investors.

Generally speaking, they can easily go somewhere else.

"The cost to build a hotel in the Dominican Republic is about $45 per square foot, with labour costs a dollar an hour. That's substantially lower than costs here in Bermuda. We obviously have a niche at the high end, but these investors are looking to make a return.

"And the money used to finance this type of project is really discretionary funds. When the market goes down, the high net worth individuals find their wealth is decreased. Their discretionary wealth -- the money they were budgeting for investing in projects -- is diminished.'' Mr. Musson said the Morgan's Point investors were quite comfortable and pleased with the outcome of recent meetings with senior officials with both the Government and opposition parties.

And yesterday, a master construction contractor was touring the site at the invitation of the developers. Such contractors generally would provide guaranteed budget ceilings for the developer to consider.

Although no major work will get done until after the election, some things will be accomplished, including the expected due diligence.

But Mr. Musson indicated there was always a risk during the interim that another opportunity may lure investors into using the money for another deal.

He said, "There's no indication right now that they are going away. But during this period, that is always a risk. It is an unknown.'' All things being equal he agreed, investors don't like to have money sitting around, that they can use elsewhere to make more money.

The first phase at Morgan's Point includes environmental clean-up, a 400-berth marina, the start of the village centre, other infrastructure work, and the construction of a new golf course, will take about two years and cost $90 million.

The BLDC has not made public the name of the new developer/investor, who stepped in after the original developer failed to meet agreed upon deadlines for financing.

Morgan's Point plans on hold That name is likely to be known soon, as an agreement is on the verge of being formalised with the BLDC. The 131-year lease arrangement will have to be ratified by the new, post-election Parliament, because of its length. Any lease greater than 21 years has to be approved by Parliament.

Said Mr. Musson, "The developers would prefer to wait until the new Parliament is in, before making the commitment. They are investing significant sums of money, so they want to assess all the risks.'' The developers will have to wait until phase two of the plan to really begin getting substantial portions of their outlay back, through the sale of 300 newly-constructed homes, ranging in price from $450,000 up to $2 million.