Funds Released for Kohala Hospital, Kamuela Ag Facility Projects

Gov. Neil Abercrombie has released $41.2 million for construction and improvement projects statewide, including several on the Big Island.

Abercrombie’s administration so far has released more than $1.5 billion for capital improvement projects, thereby investing in priority improvement and upgrades that will directly benefit the people of Hawaii, his office said.

“These projects are contributing to Hawaii’s improving employment and economic growth, predicted to outpace the national growth rate over the next year,” Abercrombie said.

The CIP funding for Hawaii County include:

• $2.2 million for Kohala Hospital for design and construction for hospital renovations, including parking lot improvements, installation of an air conditioning system, replacement of doors and windows and fire and safety upgrades
• $1 million for the Kamuela Vacuum Cooling Plant for design and construction for improvements to the plant, a large processing facility owned by the state Department of Agriculture and operated by the Kamuela Vacuum Cooling Cooperative; improvements may include replacement of aging cooling chambers that are used to cool down and extend the shelf-life of Waimea-grown agricultural products before being shipped to market
• $275,000 for Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES) Facilities in Hilo for planning and preparation for a project development report, site evaluation report, an environmental assessment and other miscellaneous planning tasks

Other funding is earmarked for statewide projects including improvements to business resource planning, information technology, state libraries and rockfall and flooding mitigation.

For a complete list of the funding click here.