MEDIA RELEASE

Gov. Neil Abercrombie has announced the release of more than $52.5 million for Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) that will help shape Hawaii’s future in the areas of connectivity, energy and growth, while continuing the state’s strategy of stimulating the economy and generating local jobs through prioritized CIP work.

“Each of these projects represents an investment in the future of Hawaii and our ability to be proactive in shaping our future as a state,” Abercrombie said.

“This includes planning for an underwater fiber optic cable that will move us toward achieving our Hawaii Broadband Initiative goal of universal access to affordable, high-speed Internet by 2018,” he said. “For a state as isolated as our own, high-speed Internet can be transformative, connecting families, businesses and institutions; spurring economic development and innovation; and giving current and future generations a competitive edge.”

Allotment of funds for the following priority projects, identified by members of the state Legislature, has been approved by the governor:

* $43,000,000 – Honolulu International Airport, Interim Car Rental Facility, Oahu

Financing of a short-term loan, to be paid from rental motor vehicle customer facility charge special funds provided through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ “EB-5” Immigrant Investor program, for the construction of a temporary operational area for the five “on-airport” car rental companies (the overall project will allow expansion of the existing, undersized facility to at least eight rental car companies at the airport)

* $3,500,000 – Kalaeloa East Energy Corridor, Oahu

Planning, design and construction of an electrical distribution system between Roosevelt Road and Tripoli Road at Kalaeloa (The Hawaii Community Development Authority will develop an energy corridor in East Kalaeloa consisting of above-ground electrical and telecommunications cable lines)

* $2,200,000 – Transpacific Cable Project, statewide

Planning to create privately-managed, shared open-access submarine fiber optic cable land stations; the project will identify potential transpacific cable landing stations, rank potential sites, support environmental assessments with cable landing developers, and complete pre-engineering studies of selected sites (The state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, which receives the appropriation, will enter into a Memorandum of Agreement with the state Department of Defense to implement this project)

* $2,135,000 – Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS) Information and Communication Services Division (ICSD) Radio Sites, statewide

Planning of health and safety improvements to support the state’s Anuenue and Hawaiian Microwave System and to expand radio communications coverage on Oahu and Kauai

* $1,500,000 – Pohukaina Street Mixed-Use Transient Oriented Development Project, Oahu

Planning for the Hawaii Community Development Authority’s 690 Pohukaina Street Project, a mixed-use high rise condominium, two smaller residential and commercial buildings, a parking structure and civic-commercial center in Kakaako; the project will also be a transit-oriented development, designed to maximize access to public transportation and incorporate features to encourage transit ridership

* $248,177 – Kulani Correctional Facility, Hawaii Island

Planning for the reactivation of the Kulani Correctional Facility