Nan Inc. wins deal for last trio of transit stations
Rail officials have awarded Nan Inc. — not Watts Constructors — the contract to build the final trio of stations along rail’s first 10 miles, even though Watts had submitted the lowest bid for that work.
A Nov. 17 bid-opening showed that Nan had bid $115.8 million to build what rail officials have dubbed the “Kamehameha Highway Stations Group,” including the Pearl Highlands, Pearlridge and Aloha Stadium stations. Watts bid $112.7 million. However, federal officials eventually found that the Watts bid did not comply with the required Buy American laws, according to a Federal Transit Administration letter to the firm Friday.
The FTA made that call because Watts had submitted documents that showed three of its subcontractors could not comply with those Buy American regulations for the work, according to the letter. Watts then told the FTA that those details about the subcontractors were “superfluous” to the bid, the letter stated. Representatives for Watts could not be reached late Tuesday.
Using Nan’s bid, it should cost about $250.8 million to build all nine stations along the transit line’s first 10 miles to Aloha Stadium, excluding any change orders. That’s significantly less than the $294 million low bid that the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation received in 2014 to build all nine stations together, before the rail agency canceled that bid and broke the stations into groups to seek lower costs.
But the new price also represents about $50 million more than HART had originally budgeted to build those nine stations, back when it scrapped the first bids. Overall, the 20-mile, 21-station rail project faces an approximately $1.3 billion shortfall.
Nan, meanwhile, has had a complicated relationship with the rail transit construction project thus far.
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The firm submitted the original $294 million bid back in 2014 to build all nine stations to Aloha Stadium. It initially challenged HART’s cancellation before relenting.
Earlier this year Nan challenged with state commerce officials the Hawaiian Dredging $78.9 million low bid to build three stations at Leeward Community College, Waipahu and West Loch. Those state commerce officials eventually denied Nan’s challenge.
This past summer Nan bid lowest and received a contract to build the second trio of stations in West Oahu. The company later tried to withdraw its $56.1 million bid due to errors in calculating prices for materials, according to a July 1 letter to the firm from HART. The agency denied Nan’s request to withdraw.
42 responses to “Nan Inc. wins deal for last trio of transit stations”
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Nan will leave Hawaii’s budget with a nan balance at the end?
Most corrupt project in all of Hawaii’s history.
Why is the “Extortionist Crook” Patrick Shin (NAN INC) still doing government contracts?? Wasn’t he Banned from participating in any Government Contracts? This guy has a LONG history of Shady deals,shoddy work and under paying his employees! “Complicated”?….If you think NAN INC will comply with “The Buy American Law” ? Turn to your right or left and kindly ask that person to slap you! lol.
Why the CC of H and Captian Kirt still allow them to do business? Is beyond my comprehension….then again all crooks stick together.
Agree. Just Google the guy and see what he did to the families living in Nuuanu, not to mention the Federal Government. Hope the taxpayers don’t get screwed by this guy, but with the size of this project and Hart’s ineptitude, I’d say we best start bending over.
you go dry rubs or lubed?
better get both and the economy size.
RUSTY THE SCREECHING HATED STEEL ON STEEL RAIL REARS ITS UGLY HEAD AGAIN & AGAIN; and now the worst contractor gets to add change orders
and the public will have a mess to deal with along with MORE TAXES AND FEES. Read my lips WE THE PUBLIC DOES NOT WANT RAIL.
oops DO NOT WANT RAIL
“””But the new price also represents about $50 million more than HART had originally budgeted to build those nine stations”””
And I might add it excludes any change orders. We’re still at the tip of the iceberg. The rail is going to cost much much more than 6.57 billion. The GET increase will become permanent AND our property taxes will get hit when the operation and maintenance costs skyrocket AFTER the ridership falls short of projections.
To say the least.
given that the original estimate is for a time when the construction industry was in recessian, only $50 million more is fantastic.
The fact that you could even write the phrase “only $50 million more” reveals how out of touch you are.
wiliki must be getting some of that “only” 50 million.
Roughly 10%. Within typical bounds for a current estimate. So this is REALLY , REALY good.
Shin has not built on his nuuanu property YET…I’m certain that he will get the green light to go ahead as soon as he does the rail job.
Millions of dollars of infrastructure work in Nuuanu is not building? How much is he paying you to shill for him?
More taxpayers money down the drain.
HART has saved over $100 million in these jobs.HART is doing an outstanding job.
HART hasn’t saved anything. The rail was originally sold to the public at 3.2 billion. We are now at 6.57 billion. More than 100% over budget.
Please stop the lies.
No lie. Check out the bids? SA has all the numbers
you fail at math. go back school.
Wiliki’s math is like this. I bought a Honda that I couldn’t afford for $30,000. But you know what? I could have bought a Porsche for $100,000 so I saved $70,000!!!
haha excellent example!
wilikitutu says: “HART has saved over $100 million in these jobs.”
Slow down there Bagdad Bob. They are over budget by a billion dollars. I don’t we can afford much more of their “outstanding job”
Outstanding in the corn field?
With Nan Inc, you can pretty much expect workers safety to go out the window. Safety is a dog and pony show with them.
Feds should put some OSHA workers to monitor these jobs.
Republicans hate OSHA. It robs the business of spending on the workers. Management has never liked to invest on its workers.
EPA, too. That’s why they moved their American business to unregulated air quality of China.
Better adjust your meds Mr. Mike, OSHA was created in the Nixon administration.
“Using Nan’s bid, it should cost about $250.8 million to build all nine stations along the transit line’s first 10 miles to Aloha Stadium, excluding any change orders.” Can anyone point out the key 4 words in this statement?
Not a sweet deal for Nan and other contractors who have bid. Odd that critics of rail claim the contractors bribed their ways to generous deals.
“””Odd that critics of rail claim the contractors bribed their ways to generous deals.”””
Sure looks like they got generous deals to me.
Baloney over $100 M less than previous low bid on the 9 stations.
nah nandings makes ono spanish rolls!
Exactly who are the “rail officials” that awarded Nan Inc. the contract?
When I supervised construction contract work on the mainland for a large city, we required the contractor who won the bid (ALWAYS the lowest bidder even tho we advertised “lowest and best”) to have a bond in the amount that would complete the contract should the awarded contractor be found in default. In the last 15+ years of living in Honolulu, I have read too many articles where the contractor who was awarded a contract failed to perform to contract requirements or requested so many change orders that made the final price higher than the highest original bidders. I am not sure if Hawaii has the talent to monitor, enforce, and completely inspect every aspect of their construction contracts. Given the allegations against nan in the past, this contract should demand the closest possible monitoring.
In Honolulu, we also look for the “best”.
but rarely receive the best much less the bare minimum. the rail is a perfect example.
Honolulu doing its best qualified list from the bottom going upwards.
How much did they donate to Caldwell? Must have been lots and lots.
[…] In December 2015, Nan won the contract for construction of three rail stations along the Kamehameha Highway section with a bid of $116 million. The three stations are at Pearl Highlands, Pearlridge and Aloha Stadium. […]