The City and County of Honolulu sold about $379 million of tax-exempt and taxable general obligation bonds on Wednesday that will be used to refinance existing debt and finance new capital improvement projects and equipment.

A key component of the sale was the refinancing of $232 million in existing general obligation bonds that will save Honolulu taxpayers more than $22.5 million in future payments because of lower interest rates.

The average interest rate on the 25-year tax-exempt bonds for new projects is 2.89 percent, which the city says is the lowest in its history for that length of term. The eight-year bond rate for new equipment is 1.38 percent. The rate for 25-year taxable bonds is 2.67 percent.

“The favorable reaction of the investment community in purchasing these bonds at historically low interest rates is very significant because it’s a validation by investors of the city and county’s strong financial condition, prudent fiscal management and their confidence in owning our city bonds,” Roy Amemiya, city managing director, said in a phone interview.

In addition, the city sold its first-ever series of taxable Green Bonds. The proceeds will be used to refinance debt that was originally sold to fund HPOWER, the garbage-to-energy plant in Campbell Industrial Park.

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Dave Segal, Star-Advertiser