The agreement between the Bermuda Government and the Canadian Commercial Corporation has been published on the Bermuda Parliamentary website.

The Airport Development Agreement was signed last summer and tabled in the House of Assembly by finance minister Bob Richards in December.

In a statement today, the Government said the project will “replace an ageing and crumbling infrastructure with a purpose-built 21st century terminal for civilian air traffic”, calling for hundreds of jobs for Bermudians.

The deal has repeatedly been criticised by the Progressive Labour Party, but Mr Richards stated: “There are substantial advantages to the Government’s course in this redevelopment project.

“Not the least of benefits is the ability to work with the Triple-A-rated Canadian Government and obtaining guarantees against cost overruns, shoddy workmanship and time delays. These have been the biggest issues plaguing Bermuda’s history of infrastructure development. And it has cost the taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars in unnecessary expenditure.

“It is time for that to stop. We are today, and for the foreseeable future, paying for the sins of the past.

“But we are on a course toward getting Bermuda back to the days of a balanced budget. Even then, our work will not be finished. We will still have to find additional revenues after that to pay off a multi-billion-dollar debt.

“This means it is crucial that we exercise prudence in our fiscal policy. This project is just one aspect of that strategy and notably, it does not impact the treasury and add millions of dollars more to the Government’s debt.”

To see the agreement, visitwww.parliament.bm