The airport redevelopment deal could have been better handled, Bob Richards conceded — but the Minister of Finance held that the “overriding lesson” of the last three years was one of staying the course.

“If you know you’re doing the right thing for the right reasons, stick to it,” Mr Richards told yesterday’s gathering of Bermuda and Canadian Government officials at the open patch at LF Wade International Airport known as stonecrusher corner.

The occasion marked the official groundbreaking for the airport terminal, which is to rise over the next 40 months at the site of the old runway 0826.

Calling it “an historic moment for Bermuda”, as well as “the largest capital project that our country has undertaken”, Michael Dunkley also acknowledged the opposition that has beset the public-private partnership from its announcement in November 2014.

“To those who opposed the project, it is my sincere hope you will see and experience the benefits as we move forward,” the Premier said.

“I appreciate that the journey we have travelled as a country to reach this point has not been an easy one. However, I always had faith that we would overcome the challenges faced, as I firmly believe that what unites us far outweighs what divides us, and this is a necessary redevelopment.”

Top officials from Canadian Commercial Corporation and the developer, Aecon, also spoke at the ceremony before declaring the project begun with a symbolic turning of the soil.

Heavy equipment, heaps of gravel and workmen are already busy at the scene, where the 277,300 square-foot terminal will ultimately replace the ageing terminal of LF Wade International Airport.

Aaron Adderley, president of Skyport, vowed that the new company would pursue “new and exciting airline routes” over the months ahead.

Noting the island’s struggles with retaining some of its new air connections in recent years, Mr Adderley said: “Historically, the airport has secured the added lift — however we’ve not been able to see those flights become sustainable. Hence the up-and-down variations in seat capacity over the years.”

With air arrivals now showing a modest rise, Mr Adderley said he believed the island could “best facilitate these recent trends with the help of a new airport terminal”.