Home-improvement retailer Lowe’s has completed its planned purchase of land on Maui for a larger new store in Kahului.

An affiliate of landowner Alexander & Baldwin Inc. announced the sale Monday, saying Lowe’s paid $18.7 million for the 11-acre parcel at Maui Business Park.

Lowe’s plans to build a 167,000-square-foot store expected to break ground later this year, according to A&B.

The new store is slated to replace a roughly 145,000-square-foot store that Lowe’s acquired in 1999 as part of its acquisition of Eagle Hardware & Garden. The existing Lowe’s store is about a half-mile away at Maui Marketplace, a big-box retail center developed within Maui Business Park.

Maui Business Park is a roughly 220-acre light industrial subdivision that A&B began developing on former sugar plantation land in 1995. Tenants in the park include Home Depot, Costco, Kmart, a Target store that opened in March, Sports Authority, Office Max and Pier 1 Imports.

Hawaii the ninth-worst state for drivers

Only eight states are worse for drivers than Hawaii, according to a new study.

Personal finance site Bankrate.com rated each state according to its traffic fatality count, number of car thefts, car repair costs, spending on gasoline, insurance premiums and commute times.

Washington state ranked at No. 10 and Hawaii at 9.

The eight states even worse for drivers are New York at No. 8; Georgia at No. 7; No. 6, Delaware; fifth-ranked New Jersey; No. 4, Maryland; No. 3, Texas; California at No. 2; and the worst state for drivers, according to the Bankrate analysis, is Louisiana.

Hawaii drivers spent an estimated $1,347 on gasoline in 2014, the third-highest total in the nation, 42 percent higher than the typical American motorist had to spend. Gasoline in the islands cost an average $4.16 a gallon last year, more than in any other state.

The Aloha State has the 10th-highest rate of car thefts, at 262 per 100,000 population, and Hawaii vehicle insurance premiums exceed the national average by $27.

In Louisiana, while gas prices are only $68 higher than the national average, insurance premiums are the highest in the country with a five-year estimate of $1,279. That tops the national average by 40 percent.

Drivers in Louisiana spend more time commuting and are more likely to be involved in a fatal crash, the study found. Car repair prices also are higher, but the car theft rate is 10 percent lower than the national average.

Separately, a 2014 study by Nerdwallet.com, another personal finance site, ranked the Honolulu metro area as the ninth-worst U.S. city for drivers using similar parameters; while another study by data technology company INRIX measured Honolulu traffic as second worst in the U.S.

Apple aims to boost mobile device sales

SAN FRANCISCO >> Apple is leaning on Cisco Systems’ Internet networking expertise in its latest attempt to sell more iPhones and iPads to corporate customers.

The alliance announced Monday calls for Cisco to ensure that corporate Internet connections relying on its gear deliver content quickly and securely to iPhones and iPads. Cisco will also help Apple develop ways for iPhones to interact more smoothly with workers’ office phones.

Financial terms of the partnership weren’t disclosed.

Probe of Google moves into new phase

SAN FRANCISCO >> A lengthy investigation into whether Google has been abusing its dominance of Internet search to stifle competition in India is moving into its next phase.

The preliminary findings of the 3-year-old probe have been submitted to the Competition Commission of India and to Google.

The inquiry revolved around complaints filed by several websites contending that Google has been unfairly highlighting its own services in its influential search results at the expense of its rivals.

The allegations are similar to other accusations of illegal self-promotion in the U.S., Europe and other parts of the world.

Huge gas find might help fix Egypt’s fuel crisis

CAIRO >> The discovery of a huge gas field off Egypt’s coast promises to ease a long-running fuel crisis and boost the economy after years of unrest, but it will take years to develop and won’t bring Persian Gulf-style riches to the Arab world’s most populous country, experts said Monday.

The new “supergiant” offshore Zohr field, revealed a day earlier by Italy’s Eni SpA and billed as the “largest ever” found in the Mediterranean Sea, could alleviate Egypt’s need for natural gas imports in the coming years, when a booming population will lead to a spike in domestic demand.

On The Move

>> Incumbent directors Hyung K. Cha, an insurance broker with Occidental Underwriters; Wayne T. Ishihara, president of the Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce; and Soung H. Yoon, president of TONYMOLY Hawaii, were elected to serve on the board of Ohana Pacific Bank for a term of three years ending in 2018. They will continue to serve along with Nicole L. Choi, partner, Prudential Locations LLC; James C. Hong, president and chief executive officer of Ohana Pacific Bank; Donald B.S. Kang, president and CEO of Pomar Ltd. dba Hilo Hattie; Donald C.W. Kim, chairman of the board of Ohana Pacific Bank and chairman and CEO of AMKOR A&E; Rex K.C. Kim, principal member, Rex K.C. Kim Law Firm; Wayne T. Miyao, vice chairman of the board of Ohana Pacific Bank; Ronald T.Y. Moon, former chief justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court; and Roy Y. Morihara, retired managing partner of Grant Thornton LLP.

>> Olomana Loomis ISC has hired Jason Ubay as a communications project manager. His responsibilities will include implementing and managing comprehensive media and public relations initiatives for the agency’s clients as well as providing strategic communications counsel. Ubay was previously a managing editor for Hawaii Business and a reporter for Pacific Business News.

Ship Ahoy!

Tuesday’s ship arrivals and departures: