HOURS after the States approved the financial deal for the £330m Waterfront development yesterday, Members were handed documents that raised concerns about the funding behind the project.

And Chief Minister Frank Walker had to apologise for misleading the House yesterday after originally denying the existence of a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against developers Harcourt over Las Vegas’s $800m Sullivan Square development. He said he had been misinformed, and that he had only been told about the lawsuit after the debate.

The reports into Harcourt by Pricewaterhouse-Coopers and a risk management company – given to Members confidentially but leaked almost immediately to the JEP – strike a note of caution and say that the Waterfront Enterprise Board should ask for more recent information about developers Harcourt and claim that they would have to borrow money for the project.

Senator Walker says that the deal will be guaranteed by a major bank before it is signed, and that the public interest will be protected if things go wrong. The reports praise Harcourt’s record in large-scale developments and include letters from three major banks supporting them.

*The Las Vegas development at the heart of the lawsuit