Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa, UHWO Chancellor Gene Awakuni, Sen. Jill Tokuda, UH President M. R. C. Greenwood, Sen. Clarence Nishihara. [Photo by Russ Awakuni]
From: Gene I. Awakuni, Chancellor, University of Hawaii – West Oahu
Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2012 3:14 PM
UH West Oahu is aware of questions circulating in the community about construction costs and financing, and we understand there are some subcontractors who are unhappy with the speed of their payments.
We and RCUH (the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii) are in active communication with the general contractor and others and have recently met with the contractor to verify the timing and extent of outstanding costs. The Board of Regents has been made aware of this issue.
RCUH managed the project with Chancellor Gene Awakuni as Principal Investigator. With a project of this size and complexity, it is not unexpected that we would encounter some delays in processing. This has been a challenging project to complete for years and has, in what has been a difficult economy, required some creative means of obtaining financing to meet the pressing covenants with the land donor.
We’re proud and grateful we were able to complete and open it up to 2000 students this week.
The construction cost of UH West Oahu is $173 million. We have in place a finance package of $177 million. The details of it are as
follows:
1. General obligation bonds of $91 million 2. Revenue bonds of $68 million 3. EB5 Loan provided by the CanAm Group for $18 million (the attached FAQ provides background about the EB5 loan)
Pursuant to Section 37D of HRS, we obtained the approval of the State Attorney General and the Director of Budget and Finance in order to apply for and get this loan. The $18 million is in an escrow account awaiting our project’s approval by the U.S. Government. The money was due to be released in June, then July, and now projected to be October.
In effect, we have encountered a cash flow problem.
Due to this unanticipated delay in the release of this money, the university is in the process of developing and will present to the Board of Regents if it should be necessary a proposal for short-term funding so that we may meet our obligations. We thank the contractors for their patience,hard work, and for diligently meeting our deadlines. This matter is of urgent concern and it is our intention to catch up with payments as swiftly as possible.
Related Post:
UH West O`ahu Opening Day Photos 8/18/12
Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment »