the newly-appointed Minister responsible for the Bases said yesterday.

The Hon. Grant Gibbons said it was possible a use for the more than 1,300 acres of land in the East End could eventually rival tourism and international business.

"If you don't shoot high, you're not going to get there,'' Sen. Gibbons told The Royal Gazette after he was sworn in as Minister of Management and Technology at Government House.

"We really have to be creative and imaginative in terms of how we view the potential for this land.'' Sen. Gibbons, 41, who was named to the Senate in October after managing the United Bermuda Party's close election victory over the Progressive Labour Party, succeeds Sen. Michael Winfield, who resigned last week.

Still a political rookie, Sen. Gibbons is seen as a skilled organiser and manager. A Rhodes Scholar who also has a doctorate in Chemistry from Harvard, he worked for five years at an American pharmaceutical company before returning to Bermuda in 1987 to join the Gibbons Company, where he is managing director.

The son of former Hamilton Mayor Mr. Graham Gibbons, he narrowly lost a UBP primary in Smith's South in 1992.

Yesterday, Sen. Gibbons wasted no time in tackling his portfolio, arriving at his new office in the Cabinet Building soon after the swearing-in.

Indications from US military sources were that the Base lands would be returned to Bermuda, but that was still not certain, Sen. Gibbons said.

The lands should be returned. Otherwise, "we have the responsibility for it, but we don't really have the freedom to utilise it for the best possible gain of Bermuda,'' he said.

The Base closures and takeover of the Civil Air Terminal presented maintenance and other problems in the short term, he said. But beyond that, Bermuda had been "handed a bonus''. The Country could "find a use or uses for that land that will really reposition us as we go into this next century.

"Very few countries have that opportunity.'' One of his first tasks would be to help set up five committees the Premier has named to oversee the closures and redevelopment of not only the US Naval Air Station and US Naval Annex, but the Royal Navy's HMS Malabar and the already-closed Canadian Base at Daniel's Head.

Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan, Deputy Premier the Hon. Irving Pearman, and Sen. Gibbons will sit on the main Base negotiating committee reporting to Cabinet.

Mr. Pearman will chair an infrastructure committee, the Premier will chair a legal committee, Sen. Gibbons will chair a committee looking at future uses for the lands, and an air operations committee will work closely with the Ministry of Transport.

"Part of my function, really, is to help coordinate these activities and make sure the process is moving forward,'' Sen. Gibbons said.

"As with any large problem, my approach ... is to try to break it down into a series of manageable steps and try to get as many people involved as possible.'' It could still be several months before Bermuda was able to directly negotiate the closure with the United States, Sen. Gibbons said. US President Bill Clinton has signed the law that cuts off funding for the Base after September of 1995.

Next, that must be communicated to the State Department, which in turn informs the United Kingdom, which informs the Governor, who informs the Bermuda Government. At that point, the Premier can ask the UK for permission to negotiate the withdrawal with the Americans.

While they were overshadowed by the Bases, technology matters would also be important, Sen. Gibbons said. The Island's advanced technology was partly responsible for both its business and tourism success, he said.

The Hon. Grant Gibbons.