With all appeals from losing bidders denied, the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation is now taking steps to iron out a contract with Ansaldo Honolulu.

The rail agency has sent a letter to Ansaldo Honolulu, whose parent company is based in Italy and is restructuring its car-making arm, requesting confirmation of "financial capacity," said Toru Hamayasu, interim executive director for HART.

"We should receive that confirmation shortly, and we will proceed cautiously," Hamayasu said.

The city picked Ansaldo for a $1.45 billion contract to design, build, operate and maintain the planned $5.3 billion, 20-mile rail system. Losing bidders Bombardier Transportation and Sumitomo Corp. of America were denied protests they lodged with the city.

Both losing bidders appealed to the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, where a hearings officer again denied both companies’ claims that the city made missteps in choosing Ansaldo.

During the appeals process, Finmeccanica, an Italian conglomerate partially owned by that country’s government, revealed that it planned to restructure or sell AnsaldoBreda, the car-making arm of its transportation business. AnsaldoBreda and Ansaldo STS, which operates rail systems, have partnered on the Ansaldo Honolulu contract.

Finmeccanica’s chief executive officer said AnsaldoBreda has had difficulty with many contracts. Other U.S. cities have reported problems about delays and other issues with AnsaldoBreda.

Late Monday, Bombardier filed a lawsuit in Circuit Court against the city and state over the rejection of its bid. Bombardier argues in the lawsuit that the city did not engage in "meaningful discussions" to inform the company of any defects in its proposal.

Sumitomo executives said they are carefully considering a lawsuit as well, and are likely to do so now that Bombardier has filed.

City lawyers advised HART that no action could be taken on Ansaldo Honolulu until the appeals process was done. Now that it’s completed, HART can move ahead with Ansaldo Honolulu, unless the court orders an injunction on the contract.

The HART board is expected to discuss the contract in its regular meeting Thursday, said board Chairwoman Carrie Okinaga.

HART will require Ansaldo to provide several bonds, including a performance bond and a payment bond. A performance bond would guarantee completion of the contract according to the terms laid out, including price and time frame. It would be about $371.8 million, Hamayasu said.

A payment bond would guarantee that Ansaldo would meet its payment obligations to its subcontractors, which would be another $371.8 million, he said.

"Additional performance and payment bonds are also required for the operation and maintenance period of the contract," Hamayasu said. "These bonds require that an independent third party be willing to put their own money on the line to guarantee Ansaldo’s financial capacity. All of those will help ensure that the city is protected."