The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) just cleared an important checkpoint: a clean fiscal 2025 audit, even as city records now peg the Skyline rail price tag at roughly $10 billion. Auditors found no material misstatements in the books, and HART’s balance sheet showed a solid improvement for the year ending June 30, 2025. In plain terms, the accounting looks good at the very moment construction is pressing into the tricky downtown stretch.
Independent auditors concluded that HART’s FY25 financial statements “fairly present” the agency’s financial position and results of operations, according to Aloha State Daily. The audit lists total assets and deferred outflows of about $4.35 billion, including roughly $3.4 billion in rail-related capital assets and $654 million recorded as construction-in-progress. HART’s net position climbed by $764 million to about $3.26 billion. Nonoperating revenues came in at roughly $509.6 million, led by county tax surcharges and $250.2 million in Federal Transit Administration grants, while operating expenses stayed comparatively lean at about $4.1 million.
Where the Money Comes From and Who Watches the Books
HART handles planning and construction for Skyline but does not run the trains or collect fares, which leaves its financial lifeline tied largely to federal grants and local tax surcharges, according to HART’s own overview of the project. The operating side of the rail system is handled elsewhere; HART is the builder, not the operator.
The State Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS) also keeps a close eye on how that money flows. DAGS reviews HART invoices every quarter and has the authority to withhold reimbursements that do not comply with state law, a tool the department says it still uses to safeguard taxpayer funds. Those reviews have already resulted in adjustments to reimbursement amounts this year, underscoring that the first round of scrutiny happens before state dollars actually go out the door.
Price Tag and Debt Picture
City documents attached to a 2025 bond official statement put the total estimated cost of the Honolulu Rail Transit Project at about $10.076 billion; that includes roughly $9.568 billion in capital costs plus about $508 million in financing charges, Aloha State Daily reports. It is a jaw-dropping figure, even for a project that has long been one of Hawaiʻi’s biggest public-works undertakings.
On the debt side, the audited numbers show some movement in the right direction. Long-term debt connected to the project fell to about $815.4 million from $934 million the year before. Bonds that the city issued on HART’s behalf account for about three-quarters of total liabilities and are scheduled to be fully paid off by 2031, assuming everything stays on track.
Construction Update and What’s Next
Out in the field, construction continues on the City Center Guideway and Stations segment that runs from Middle Street into the Civic Center area. Utility relocations for that downtown stretch are expected to wrap up in 2026, according to project schedules and recent reporting. As segments are completed, they transfer to the city’s Department of Transportation Services, which takes over operations and maintenance; HART already shifted nearly $3 billion in capital assets to the city for the system’s first operating segment in 2023.
Local coverage of the downtown phase, including the $1.66 billion contract to build the guideway and stations, has highlighted how the next few years are likely to reshape both costs and traffic patterns in central Honolulu, as the $1.66 billion downtown build documented earlier this year. With major construction now in full swing, bond repayment schedules and federal grant conditions will remain the critical checkpoints for the entire project.
The clean audit clears away immediate accounting red flags, but the roughly $10.1 billion overall estimate keeps Skyline firmly in the spotlight as one of the most closely watched projects in Hawaiʻi’s history. Expect pointed questions at upcoming budget and council hearings as officials try to balance the upbeat audit results with the sheer cost and tight timelines that still hang over the downtown finish.
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