Updated rail financial plan lowers cost to $5.3 billion
A University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization report projects construction spending statewide will jump 3.6 percent this year to \$5.6 billion. Honolulu’s mass-transit line will be a factor. Above is an artist’s rendition for a planned rail station in Aiea.
The city has updated the financial plan for Honolulu’s rail transit system.
Most significant is that the projected capital cost of the system, which has been at $5.5 billion for the past few years, has shrunk down to $5.3 billion, which includes adjustments for inflation and a 21-percent contingency of about $865 million.
"As the project’s engineering advances and construction costs become more defined, the city and county of Honolulu is able to sharpen its financial plan to better reflect project needs and provide a more realistic financial roadmap," Mayor Peter Carlisle said in a statement.
The plan’s last update was in August 2009. An updated plan was necessary for the Federal Transit Administration to review before the city can enter the project’s final design phase.
City officials said the final design phase should begin later this year.
