The Progressive Labour Party is planning a town-hall meeting to discuss continued concerns about the airport redevelopment project.

In a statement, a PLP spokesman said that Finance Minister Bob Richards had refused to discuss the independent report by Deloitte on the handling of the controversial project.

“It is critical that the largest capital project in Bermuda’s history is executed correctly,” the spokesman said. “We as a country cannot afford to get this wrong, especially as the OBA is planning on giving Aecon the rights to control our air terminal for the next 35 years.

“From the outset of this project, we have urged the Government to put the airport project out to competitive tender to ensure that Bermuda gets the best deal possible. Further, we agree with the independent Deloitte report which states that the Government must use a ‘public sector comparator’ to ensure that the public-private partnership (PPP) that they have agreed to makes the most long-term economic sense for Bermuda.”

“We encourage all taxpayers to read the independent Deloitte report, which is available on www.parliament.bm, as it echoes many of the concerns raised by the PLP since the OBA announced that they had agreed a sole-sourced PPP to build a new airport terminal.

“We can all agree that this topic is one that should concern all of us. Therefore, we invite and encourage everyone to come out to this important meeting to learn about the independent Deloitte report and to hear the PLP’s alternate vision for the redevelopment of the airport.”

The meeting is scheduled to take place at the Warwick Workmen’s Club this Thursday, starting at 7pm. Included on the panel will be Shadow Finance Minister David Burt and Shadow Transport Minister Lawrence Scott.