Governor releases $9 million for ongoing state projects

This week, Gov. Linda Lingle released nearly $9 million for improvements and upgrades throughout the state.

• On Monday, $2.5 million was released to design and construct energy efficiency improvements to the air-conditioning system at Bilger Addition on the University of Hawai'i at Manoa campus. The goal is to reduce the building's electrical consumption by 700,000 kilowatt hours per year by completion in June 2010.

• On Tuesday, Lingle released $987,000 for upgrades to Hawai'i Community College's Manono Campus in Hilo. Many campus facilities were built in the 1950s and required upgrades such as renovation needs and space requirements.

• On Wednesday, $1,770,000 was released for projects on Maui, Kaua'i, and O'ahu to mitigate the risk of rockfalls and restore streams affected by flooding in March 2006.

• On Thursday, Lingle released $3,481,859 for improvements at Honolulu International Airport, including $2,281,859 to modernize the airport's access control and video monitoring systems and $1,200,000 to strengthen turnaround areas that will be used by the new Wiki-Wiki buses. Construction is scheduled to begin in March 2009 and completed in September of that year.