Monday's editorial on Morgan's Point incorrectly stated that Environment Minister Arthur Hodgson said Government will reimburse developers for remediation for which the United States later takes responsibility. The statement was made by Development and Opportunity Minister Terry Lister and the editorial should have made it clear that the Government would only reimburse the developers if and when the US took responsibility, not before.

There may be a certain amount of "I told you so's'' going around in the last few days in the wake of Government breaking off negotiations with Morgan's Harbour Investment Ltd. over the plans for Morgan's Point.

The selection of MHIL more than two-and-a-half years ago was subject to criticism, primarily from others bidding for the site.

Since then the project has stopped and started. Now it seems to have come to a complete halt.

Not all of the details are clear on why the group and its financing partner, West Group, have not signed a letter of intent with the Government.

Talks had apparently reached a fairly advanced stage last year under the previous Government, but it's not surprising that the new Government would want to look carefully at exactly what was being proposed to ensure it was in Bermuda's best interests.

It may be that the investors began to lose interest as negotiations dragged on, and it is also lilkely that the Government, according to its statement on Wednesday, felt it was being played along.

Other factors could include signs that different members of Cabinet have different perspectives on tourism and development. While Tourism Minister David Allen recognises the need for new properties which will raise the profile of the industry, others seem less convinced that new investment in tourism will do anything to benefit Bermudians. Any development has to demonstrate the direct and indirect benefits to Bermudians; but walking away from almost any tourism development could result in the industry's continued slow death.

Another factor may be the pollution left at the site by the United States Navy.

With serious potential environmental remediation costs in the future, few developers would wish to take on a project without some guarantee that they would be able to recoup the expense.

That has not been forthcoming, and the US and Bermuda have failed to reach an agreement. A recent suggestion by Environment Minister Arthur Hodgson that Government will reimburse developers for remediation which the United States later takes responsibility for will have given developers little comfort. The bottom line is that 32 months after MHIL was selected to develop the property, Bermuda is back at square one.

Whether this is the responsibility of the developers, the previous and current Governments, the Bermuda Land Development Company or the US is unclear. All will probably be blamed at some point.

What is certain is that a marvellous opportunity for Bermuda has been lost.