To show how deep a hole the Ige administration has dug itself over construction of the $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea, state leaders are still having to say contractors have a right to be there and build the world’s most powerful telescope.

In the face of protests, demonstrations and eventually arrests, Ige in April announced a one-week "time out" on construction at the mountain summit that Native Hawaiians claim as sacred land.

"I thank TMT for its willingness to be respectful and sensitive to all of Hawaii — its special people, its sense of place and its unique host culture," Ige said at the time.

Now, seven months later, it appears TMT and the Ige administration have a more coherent position regarding the telescope: Build it.

Suzanne Case, director of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, which has control over Mauna Kea, traveled last week to Hilo, in part to promise that the state would enforce the law allowing access to the construction area.

"TMT has a right to move forward with its preliminary site work," Case told members of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Hawaii, according to West Hawaii Today.

Since early this year, protesters have blocked the roads, set up unauthorized encampments and halted construction vehicles on the mountain.

In the face of those actions, Ige has been repeatedly criticized for neither decisively moving to clear the roads nor speaking strongly in support of the telescope project.

While Ige has blandly said he will enforce the law, there has been no defining speech declaring that Hawaii appreciates, needs and wants the project.

Privately, business leaders and investors have feared that Ige’s lack of strong support could lead to the state wilting in the face of other protests of major projects.

Hawaii island businesses recently took out full-page newspaper ads exhorting Ige to act.

Earlier, in April, Sherry Menor-McNamara, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, wrote to members to support the project.

"TMT went through proper procedures. To halt the project now would certainly leave a black eye on Hawaii’s business climate," she said.

"We believe this project will have a long-lasting positive impact on the state of Hawaii for generations to come, not only for economic reasons, but for scientific and educational purposes," Menor-McNamara added.

Case’s assurances of safe passage started off a cavalcade of support for the project at a time when a court decision is still pending. The state Supreme Court is considering a challenge to the granting of a conservation district use permit to the University of Hawaii before a contested case hearing was held on the project.

The umbrella organization, TMT Observatory Corp., has already put $1 million into a program giving education grants to local students, and promises to give $1 million a year for the life of the telescope. TMT officials estimate that once operational, the project will have 140 employees and generate $26 million in economic input.

To bolster its case, TMT released a professionally done public opinion poll showing broad support for the telescope. The poll showed that 63 percent believe failure to move forward would "hurt Hawaii’s reputation as a place to do business."

Also, the consortium of a dozen observatories atop the mountain is enhancing its own image by sponsoring free monthly tours of the facilities in a program dubbed the "Kama’aina Observatory Experience."

Getting a big thumbs up from Ige is just about the only piece of the TMT support package that needs to click into place.

Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.