Isle firm gets $40M Navy contract

The Navy has awarded a $40 million contract for the management of Guam construction work to a Honolulu-based company.

SSFM International is expected to oversee construction, estimate costs, monitor quality, and review construction contractor schedules for the Navy.

The Naval Facilities Engineering Command Marianas said yesterday the contract includes one base period and four option years. It’s expected to be completed by September 2015.

SSFM International’s proposal was selected from 15 submitted.

The U.S. military is planning to move 8,600 Marines to Guam from Okinawa, Japan.

HUD to give state $5M to aid housing

Hawaii is getting $5 million from U.S. Housing and Urban Development to reverse the effects of the foreclosure crisis.

The grant money, which is part of HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program, was part of an additional $1 billion released yesterday.

Grantees can use the money to acquire land and property, to demolish or rehabilitate abandoned properties, or to offer down payment and closing cost assistance to low- to moderate-income home buyers (household incomes not to exceed 120 percent of area median income). In addition, they can create "land banks" to assemble, temporarily manage and dispose of vacant land.

Hawaii to get $270,300 tech grant

Hawaii will get $270,300 to make technology improvements on the accuracy of its unemployment insurance benefit payments, the U.S. Department of Labor announced yesterday.

Hawaii is one of 22 states selected to split $10 million in grant funds to help prevent, detect and collect unemployment insurance benefit overpayments.

Pasha Hawaii lowers fuel surcharge

Pasha Hawaii Transport Lines, which carries vehicles between Honolulu and San Diego, said yesterday it will match rivals Matson Navigation Co. and Horizon Lines Inc. and decrease its fuel surcharge by 3.75 percentage points, to 21.75 percent from 25.5 percent, effective Sunday.

Matson made the first move Friday to decrease the fuel surcharge and Horizon matched on Tuesday.

HEMIC declares $2M dividend

Hawaii Employers’ Mutual Insurance Co., better known as HEMIC, has declared a $2 million dividend payable to policyholders who qualified for the payout by the rules of the dividend distribution plan adopted by the board.

This is the fourth consecutive year that the HEMIC board has authorized a multimillion-dollar dividend.

HEMIC Chief Executive Officer Bob Dove said he anticipates that 75 percent of its members will receive a dividend this year. The Honolulu-based company specializes in workers’ compensation insurance.