the US Base lands returned to Bermuda, Management and Technology Minister the Hon. Grant Gibbons said yesterday.

Speaking to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bermuda, Dr. Gibbons said the airfield would have to be fenced off from the rest of the land at St.

David's, probably before the US Navy departs next September 1.

It is necessary "to prevent people from wandering onto the runways'', he said. "This is going to be a cost we cannot avoid.'' The "ballpark estimate'' for fencing the property and providing some security measures was $1 million, Dr. Gibbons said. He cautioned that the project had not yet gone out to tender.

Dr. Gibbons told the accountants the vast majority of the 268 buildings at NAS Bermuda will be slated for demolition, because it will be too expensive to keep them.

Originally, Government wanted to fully maintain 103 of the buildings, mothball another 51 to keep them from deteriorating, shut down another 44, and demolish 64, he said.

But Canadian consultant Acres International Ltd. said that plan would require a one-time $12-million capital investment and another $14 million in annual maintenance costs.

"Frankly, that is a cost which we simply cannot afford,'' Dr. Gibbons said.

Under a revised plan, only 20 buildings will be kept active and another 25 mothballed, he said. "The remainder will be considered inactive, and slated for demolition if an appropriate use cannot be found for them in the next two years.'' Government has just called for tenders from management contractors who will work with sub-contractors to maintain the Base lands, systems, and buildings.

"The cost to Bermuda will obviously depend on the bids we get,'' he said.