The disused runway at LF Wade International Airport known colloquially as the finger is to be made into public land under a draft order that has gone before Parliament.

Tourism and Transport Minister Shawn Crockwell said the area had been identified as the only available land that could accommodate a large scale solar power plant, capable of providing 25 per cent of the Island’s power.

Under the Civil Airport Amendment, the airport’s lines would be redrawn, making the finger public land under the control of the Minister of Public Works.

Both Lawrence Scott, the Shadow Minister of Transport, and Marc Bean, the Opposition leader, pointed out that the finger is much used at present.

Hazardous materials are stored at the vacant runway and aircraft are diverted there in emergencies, as well as military aircraft, the Opposition said.

“That finger is strategically necessary, not just for us but for many foreign militaries,” Mr Bean said, requesting to hear contingency plans.

Mr Bean conceded the finger was an ideal site for solar energy, telling MPs that a company had lobbied for its use as such under the Progressive Labour Party administration.

However, he said there were no other sites in the Island that could be used as effectively to store hazardous materials.

Mr Crockwell said it was necessary to split off the 80-acre finger from airport land because of the negotiations for the redevelopment of an air terminal.

“Government does not want this piece of land to be part of that discussion,” he said. The order was subsequently approved.