Opposition leader David Burt and the Public Accounts Committee have rejected an opportunity to view the Project Agreement for the airport redevelopment project, according to finance minister Bob Richards.

In a statement yesterday, Mr Richards said the Bermuda Government had offered them copies of the document on Tuesday, following repeated accusations of a lack of transparency. He said they declined the invitation two days later.

That allegation drew a strong rebuttal last night from Mr Burt, who said the offer came with “conditions which are wholly unacceptable if we are to be completely transparent”.

The requirement that Mr Burt and the PAC sign a non-disclosure agreement would “defeat the democratic process” by allowing only certain MPs to have sight of the agreement, Mr Burt said.

Wayne Furbert, the chairman of the PAC, insisted he had not been included in the invitation and dismissed Mr Richards’ statement as “absolute lies”.

Mr Richards stated that by “proactively” releasing the agreement to the PAC, members would be put at ease and “misleading” statements reduced.

However, permission would have been required from partners Canadian Commercial Corporation and Aecon, since the document contained would be subject to non-disclosure.

“It remains a confidential draft document, which cannot be final until the transaction closes,” Mr Richards said.

The conditions would have been similar to those placed on the Blue Ribbon Panel tasked with assessing the project.

In response, Mr Burt told The Royal Gazette that he had been called to a meeting on Monday of this week by Speaker of the House Randy Horton, along with Michael Dunkley, aimed at “trying to find consensus on a way forward” over the airport project.

“Since then, I have been in communication with the Premier, and I have been doing whatever necessary to keep it out of the press. The PLP have been consistent in pressing to ensure that all MPs have access to complete information so that an informed decision can be made in parliament.

“For this statement to be issued shows that the Premier and the OBA are playing divisive politics on this issue. It’s a very dangerous game. I have placed two calls to the Premier and I await his explanation.

“It’s disappointing that the Premier, who so often says that we have to act in a more mature fashion, would issue this statement without responding to our latest written communication.

“It misrepresents our position and it is regrettable that the OBA are unwilling to build consensus to reduce the understandable tensions on this issue.”

Meanwhile, Mr Furbert said he had not been contacted. He added that “if Mr Richards says we have, that’s absolute lies”.

“Bob has misled the country. He has not approached me as chair.”

Asked whether he would examine the agreement if given the chance, Mr Furbert said: “The PAC has to be able to look at it thoroughly, bringing in people to talk to like we do with any other issue. We would want to do exactly what the PAC does.”

Mr Richards said no other developments, including the hospital wing, the courts building and the Berkeley Institute project, had attracted as much attention, or led to the release of so much detail, as the airport project.

“Opposition critics have repeatedly pressed for unheard of disclosures, before the Government was even in a position to release such information,” he said.

“Yet by making this offer this week, we took transparency to another level.”

He noted Parliament is set to debate two Bills related to the project.

Mr Richards said that the debate would not amount to a vote on either the project or its agreement: one Bill provides for creating a Bermuda Airport Authority, staffed by locals and answering to the Government, to oversee operation.

He explained: “The second Bill exempts the project’s operating company from specific taxes and charges for a period that allows for upgrades, maintenance and operation of the old terminal building and related airport functions; and the creation and eventual operation and maintenance of the new terminal building and related airport functions.”

Mr Richards said “voluminous” supporting details were available online, including the entrustment report, the assessments by Deloitte Ltd and a value-for-money report from Steer Davies Gleave.

He also pointed to support from the Bermuda Hotel Association, the global body Airports Council International, and the Construction Association of Bermuda.

Mr Richards said several independent advisers had been retained, including CIBC and the local and Canadian branches of the law firm Bennett Jones; consultants LeighFisher, HNTB and Steer Davies Gleave, and KPMG in Bermuda and Canada.