The Government could miss out on a cash windfall by selling land earmarked for affordable homes to a private developer, it was claimed yesterday.

Trinity Construction Limited is planning to build 18 three-bedroom and 36 two-bedroom homes which can sell between $450,000 and $500,000 each.

Ministers hope the move will provide young Bermudians with the chance to get on the property ladder in a market where they would otherwise be unable to afford to buy a home.

In order for the scheme to go ahead, the Bermuda Land Development Company is selling 2.52 acres of land at Southside, in St. David's, to Trinity Construction for $3.8 million.

However, when the Senate discussed the proposed sale of land at its meeting yesterday, Shadow Housing Minister Sen. Kim Swan suggested the Government was missing out on an opportunity to make cash from the homes project.

Sen. Swan said Trinity Construction stood to make $10 million from the scheme ? although Sen. David Burch later said the firm's profit would be closed to $3 million.

He said: "The land buys a windfall for the developer. Not to begrudge Trinity Construction Limited for this $10 million windfall ? but there could have been other options available to the Government to able to take the $10 million windfall and also assist those persons in the community most in need, those that can't afford to rent, let alone purchase."

Sen. David Burch, the Housing Minister, had told the Senate that cash generated from the sale would be spent reducing the shortfall of the Harbourside Village development in Southside, which will give 98 lottery-winning Bermudians the chance to buy homes for $199,000.

But Sen. Swan said: "Government can stand here and say it needs $3.8 million for Harbour Village ? it's a paltry sum. We feel the Government has missed the opportunity to do the right thing by its people."

Independent Sen. Walwyn Hughes asked why the project would be attractive to Trinity Construction.

He said: "Do developers come over with a kind heart and enter into these arrangements?

"Do they say they will do this in the public interest or is there a process? It would be interesting to know.

"People don't enter into these things for nothing. He's going to make a profit. As long as it's a reasonable profit, that's reasonable."

Sen. Hughes also asked whether any clause had been negotiated to ensure the homes could still be built even if "it begins to go badly".

Responding, Sen. Burch said the land had been assessed by two independent companies, with each valuing it at $2 million.

He said the homes would be sold for a total of $25 million.

When the cost of building work and the land was brought into consideration, he claimed, Trinity Construction stood to make $3.2 million profit.

Sen. Burch added that "safety nets" were in place to ensure that if anything happened to Trinity Construction steps could be taken to proceed with the project.

Previously, Sen. Burch has said that, delays permitting, families could be moving into the condos by early 2008.