Opposition MP Erwin Adderley is quite right to ask for a construction plan from the Works Ministry on the new Berkeley Institute site - and Government should have one.

This project, with a value of $70 million, is far too valuable and important not to receive close supervision from Government, which is after all, the owner of the property.

No sane home owner would start to build a house without a construction plan stating when different phases of the work would be complete and in what stages the contractor would be paid.

In other words, the contractor would get paid when the tank was dug, when the walls went up and when the roof went on. And the contractor would tell the homeowner when those phases should be completed. If the contractor was behind, he would be warned that he would be suffering penalties if he failed to complete the project on time.

The same approach should apply when it comes to Government projects - especially a project of the size and complexity of the Berkeley Institute.

The fact that a relatively unknown construction firm without much of a track record in projects of this size is taking on the work only makes it more important.

Those who remember the desperate scramble to complete CedarBridge Academy in time for its opening will recognise the importance of Government keeping close tabs on this project. In that case another relatively unknown construction firm - Somers Construction - without much of a track record took on the work and then introduced the then-untried method in Bermuda of having a great many other firm sub-contract parts of the work. Ultimately, the project was finished slightly late and close to budget, and was not without its headaches. Still, it could have been worse.

That experience demonstrates why the Berkeley project should be closely supervised and why it is incomprehensible that the Works Ministry would say in today's newspaper that Pro-Active Construction has a construction programme but the Works Ministry does not.

That is like a homeowner hiring a contractor, handing him the plans for a house and telling him he will see him in a year's time with the cheque - complete madness.

Housing help

Government deserves credit for the construction of 18 homes for the elderly at Southside.

The aptly-named Ferguson Park, named for Roderick Ferguson who has made huge personal efforts for the elderly for decades, should give needy older people who do not have the financial resources or family support to live out their lives in comfort.

the demand for homes of this kind will only increase as Bermuda's population ages and Government and the Bermuda Housing Trust deserve credit for starting to prepare Bermuda to meet the challenge.

Premier Jennifer Smith said at the opening yesterday that the homes would provide residents with living space that will allow them to live independently and "equal to the dignity that they deserve". We agree.