The Progressive Labour Party has said that Bermuda deserves a tendering process with regards to the Island’s “single most important asset” — the airport.

In a press release issued this afternoon, Shadow Finance Minister David Burt said that Bermuda described the announced plan as “privatisation through the back door without a tender process”, adding that the One Bermuda Alliance should not give away what he believes to be $1 billion of future revenue.

Mr Burt said: “Since the Minister’s announcement on November 10, we have learned the OBA is considering a concessionary agreement for at least 30 years with a Canadian firm. This amounts to the privatisation of Bermuda’s Airport for at least 30 years.

“The OBA will be handing over, at minimum, revenues from the Department of Airport Operations and Airport Departure Taxes to the privatised operator of the airport. These revenues today stand at $25.2 million annually and over 30 years with historical inflation would total over $1 billion.

“Officials from the Bermuda Government have been in ‘close consultation’ with their counterparts in Quito, Ecuador, for at least the last five months, studying the newly built and privatised Quito International Airport. The Quito airport was backed by the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC) and is privatised and operated by a consortium led by the Canadian construction firm the OBA plans to bring to Bermuda. The concessionary agreement which led to the privatisation in Quito is for 35 years

“And the Minister of Finance stated to Parliament that CCC was the ‘only option available’ and the ‘best deal for Bermuda’, despite the fact that there was no public tender to receive any additional proposals.

He added: “The fact that the Dunkley administration is looking to enter into a concessionary agreement, which will result in the privatisation of the LF Wade International Airport, should concern all Bermudians. The fact that the OBA Cabinet is willing to forgo over $1 billion of future revenues without a fair, open and transparent tender process is a slap in the face to good governance.”

The comments come after it was announced that Finance Minister Bob Richards had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the CCC with Cabinet approval.

Mr Richards was grilled in Parliament by PLP MPs over an issue that dominated the debate on Friday night, but he denied the deal amounted to privatisation, saying that it was a matter of give and take with Bermuda taking a whole new airport.

He also questioned Mr Burt’s calculation of the airport generating $1 billion of revenue, stating that the OBA had not calculated revenue potential yet.