Djou Reacts to HART Board Announcing More Cost Increases for Rail

News Release from Djou Campaign June 8, 2016

Honolulu, HI – Congressman Charles K. Djou, candidate for Mayor of Honolulu, reacted to the HART Board meeting this afternoon.

Today the HART Board and Executive Team stated that the rail project is now even more over-budget than projected just a few weeks ago.  The Federal Transit Administration is requiring a Recovery Plan which clearly specifies what can be successfully completed with the current budget of $6.8 Billion.  According to estimates provided at today’s meeting, the total cost of the project is now estimated to be $7,967,000,000 with a completion date of April 2024.  Even with those cost estimates it was acknowledged that construction costs continue to rise so the longer it takes to award contracts the higher these estimates will be.

Djou stated, “We need a leader who will stand up for the people and protect hard-working families from the out-of control costs of the rail system.  The City administration sold the rail project to the public as a $5.5 billion system that would be built ‘on time and on budget’ — a promise it has failed to keep.  We deserve a new mayor who can rebuild the trust lost over rail and take responsibility for this mess.

“I welcome the opportunity to work tirelessly with the FTA, HART, the City Council, Legislature and most importantly the public, to get rail back on track.  We need to build rail with the resources we can afford, not the unlimited blank checks the administration want to give to contractors and developers.”

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