Rail Project Contracts Under Budget by $165 Million
(Mon., Mar. 21, 2011)–Mayor Peter Carlisle today announced the
awarding of two more major contracts for the City’s Honolulu Rail
Transit Project.
Contracts were awarded to Ansaldo Honolulu, a joint venture of
Ansaldo STS and Ansaldo Breda, for the rail project’s “core
systems,” which consists of the train vehicles and system control
center; and to Kiewit Infrastructure West Co. for design and
construction of the second phase of the rail elevated guideway from
Pearl City to Aloha Stadium.
These latest contracts represent a net savings of $165 million
from the current project estimate. Both were selected through the
procurement process based on “best value,” which is determined by
evaluating all relevant criteria in addition to price.
“Not only are we creating much-needed jobs with these and other
rail contracts, but we are also saving taxpayers’ money by making
the most of the competitive bids coming in for the project,” said
Mayor Carlisle. “This process reinforces the City’s commitment to
ensure the rail project comes in on time and on budget.”
The City has saved more than $300 million in construction costs
on the four construction contracts awarded to date. Previous
construction contracts include the contract to Kiewit for the first
6.5-mile phase of the elevated rail guideway from East Kapolei to
Pearl City and the contract for the train maintenance and storage
facility in Waipahu, which was awarded to the joint venture of
Kiewit/Kobayashi.
Ansaldo was selected as the winning bidder for the $574-million
core systems contract and will be responsible for manufacturing an
initial order of 80 train cars for the Honolulu rail system, as
well as providing power and communications for the system.
The core systems contract came in about 27 percent under the
current project estimate. Ansaldo will also operate and maintain
the rail system.
Under the $372-million Kamehameha Highway design-build contract,
Kiewit will construct the 3.9-mile, second phase of the elevated
rail guideway from Pearl City to Aloha Stadium. The Kamehameha
Highway Guideway contract came in about 17 percent above the
current project estimate.
Kiewit will be responsible for construction of the elevated
guideway along the second phase of the rail alignment, installation
of train tracks, and restoration of the road surface along the
route.
“We are pleased that three of the four major contracts have
resulted in a net savings of more than $300 million. This
contributes significantly to the confidence and stability of the
financial plan,” Mayor Carlisle said.
The City is scheduled to award the design contract for the third
section of the route from Aloha Stadium to Honolulu Airport later
this year. The final two phases of the rail alignment from Honolulu
Airport to Ala Moana Center will be built through a
design-bid-build process. The train stations along the rail route
will be designed and constructed through separate future
contracts.
The $5.5 billion transit project is a 20-mile elevated rail
system connecting East Kapolei with Ala Moana Center. It
includes 21 stations in communities including Waipahu, Pearl City,
Aiea, Kalihi, Chinatown, Downtown Honolulu and Kakaako. There will
also be stations at activity centers such as UH-West Oahu, Leeward
Community College, Pearl Highlands, Pearlridge, Aloha Stadium,
Honolulu International Airport and Honolulu Community College.
Train service for the first leg of the transit route from East
Kapolei to Aloha Stadium is scheduled to begin in 2015, with full
service along the entire 20-mile route from East Kapolei to Ala
Moana Center in 2019.