A housing development in the West End was again the subject of debate in the House of Assembly as opposition members said taxpayers will be stuck with the bill.Launching a lively debate in the House of Assembly on Friday, Mark Pettingill of the One Bermuda Alliance (OBA) claimed a US-based company was quietly selected to build the prefabricated buildings that are intended to replace the ageing Albert and Victoria Rows (see full story on Page 1).While the OBA criticised the tendering and financial aspects of the project, saying it would leave to major shortfalls for Government, members of the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) adamantly defended the project as a way to affordably replace the 140-year-old buildings with new housing while creating more than 100 jobs.Government have said the $36 million project will be financed by Wedco, and paid for by the rent of the units and sale of other units on Boaz Island.Government will provide a shortfall guarantee, but Public Works Minister Michael Weeks said it was not anticipated that the shortfall will be activated.Estates Minister and MP for the area Michael Scott said that new units to replace the existing housing is desperately needed and long overdue.“The housing is in a horrible state of repair and needs to be replaced now. It needed to be replaced in 2004,” he said. “It was in that state of condition for years.”Despite the buildings being prefabricated, Mr Scott said the project would create many jobs, both in the actual construction of the housing units, but the expansion of the infrastructure.The nature of the project, he said, will also provide Bermudian construction workers the opportunity to learn and develop new skills while making the development more affordable.“The cost is brought down by the fact that the construction method is much less expensive than bricks,” Mr Scott said. “If you were to use traditional construction methods, there is no way you could replace that housing there in Dockyard at this price.“There is no effort to put this project, or to have it put the Government, in the position of funding where we cannot afford it. It will be supported and financed by the rents of the many tenants and there will be sales of other units on Boaz Island.”While he also said the units would replace existing ones, not add additional housing units to the market, but Mr Pettingill responded that while 100 units were being built as part of the project, there are only 48 units on Victoria and Albert Rows, resulting in an additional 52 units.Shadow Health Minister Zane DeSilva said he grew up in the housing units, and that they were in need of serious work decades ago.“These houses were built in the 1870s,” Mr DeSilva said. “They should have been fixed 30, 40 years ago. 50 years ago.“They were renovated in 1979, and if [the opposition] were in power, they would have renovated them again. Renovating an 1870s unit.“Anybody that’s been in Bermuda for a period of time knows that if you renovate, especially in an old Bermuda home, the type of things you can run into.”He noted a personal renovation project that, while originally priced at $25,000, wound up costing around $48,000.Mr DeSilva then asked where the residents of the units would be moved to while renovations were underway.Mr Pettingill responded that there are currently nine empty units at the Victoria and Albert Rows. Others in the House shouted “Grand Atlantic.”The Health Minister replied: “Those units are for sale. Let’s not say we are going to stick them in Grand Atlantic. That’s not going to work.”While Mr Pettingill had said residents were concerned about the increased rents, Mr DeSilva said that Mr Weeks had met with the residents recently to discuss the project.“He said that he met with the tenants, and all but one were very, very happy that this project is finally going and excited to move into the new homes,” Mr DeSilva said. “Regardless of the amount of the rents that we will be asking for these units, the residents are excited to get these new units.”Regarding Mr Pettingill’s claim that the US company involved would be paid first, Mr DeSilva said that any company that imports goods from the US pays the company sending the goods first.Shadow Finance Minister Bob Richards said that the project is destined to cause a Government shortfall, saying that 11 current tenants at Victoria and Albert Rows pay no rent whatsoever.“We have people who cannot afford to pay these very modest rents who are being promised to be put in new units with double or triple the rent,” he said. “That burden will go to the Government because they will go to financial aid. There will be shortfalls.”While the sale of other units on Boaz Island is also expected to help finance the project, Mr Richards said: “We have built new units 300 yards from my house that cannot be sold with 100 percent financing.”He also questioned how the US company hired to build the prefabricated units was selected, asking if it had been put out to tender.He asked: “Was this company chosen because somebody knew somebody in this company? Did it just fall from the sky?“If a local company did this, there would be a much more stimulating effect than if we bring in all the materials prefab from the US. There is a lot of value being exported to the US by this model.”Mr Richards then suggested that the residents of Victoria and Albert Rows could be matched with private properties for rent, with Government covering the difference.“That is one solution to this problem that the Government doesn’t seem to want to comment on.”PLP MP and Wedco Chairman Walter Lister said the opposition was merely attacking the project for political gain, and because the PLP was working to improve the quality of life for the residents.“We are trying to improve the quality of life for Bermudians and the OBA are upset about that.“They are envious because we are trying to do it to help people improve their quality of life. This project is going to have a lot of opposition because we are trying to help people.“I don’t know where this sinister sort of thing comes from. I believe the opposition are trying to scuttle this idea because of political advantage. Why can’t you address the positive side of the issue?”He said the Government has been working on the matter for years, and that the Government had looked overseas for assistance.“We did go overseas and we thought we had a deal going and we didn’t, but we know we have to shop around.”Kim Swan, who was elected under the United Bermuda Party banner, meanwhile said that it would be a mistake for Bermuda to not prepare itself for when the economy improves, noting the effect the last economic boom had on rents.“People didn’t start leaving Bermuda and going to the UK when the recession came in the early 90s,” Mr Swan said. “They left because they couldn’t afford Bermuda when it was prosperous.“We need to put people first because we have every confidence that this country will get itself back.”Shadow Transport Minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin expressed concern about building more houses when the issue of demand and supply has, in her view, not been addressed.“At what point in time is there any consideration for the demand?” she inquired.She suggested the development would affect prices of existing houses, and was prompted by the fact that a general election is drawing near.She later retracted that remark after Government backbencher and Wedco Chairman Walter Lister said the plans have been worked on for 24 months.“If the plans have been two years in the making I accept that and therefore I apologise,” she said.Deputy Premier Derrick Burgess said the developers wanted to build a marina first but he said he told them: “Guys, (build) some houses first, and (then) we can talk about the marina. I said the houses must be built first and they are carrying that out.”He said he had already brought a paper to the House explaining what the rents would be and public meetings were held about the project with residents.