The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation received a clean audit opinion for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, the agency reported. HART reported increased assets, strong tax revenues and a decline in long-term debt tied to construction of the city’s rail system.
“The positive result of the FY25 financial audit is a clear reflection of the hard work, integrity and accountability of our entire HART ohana,” HART Executive Director and CEO Lori Kahikina said in a statement. “This result reassures taxpayers funding the project that we are fully committed to managing every dollar responsibly while delivering a rail system they can be proud of.”
Independent auditors found that HART’s financial statements fairly present its financial position and results of operations in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and identified no material misstatements or qualifications.
HART reported total assets and deferred outflows of $4.35 billion, including $3.4 billion in rail-related capital assets and $654 million in construction in progress, according to its audited financial statements for fiscal year 2025.
The agency’s net position increased $764 million to $3.26 billion, driven by intergovernmental revenues, federal grants and interest income.
HART does not generate operating revenue because its sole responsibility is planning, design and construction of the rail system.
Operating expenses totaled $4.1 million, mainly administrative and personnel costs, down from $4.5 million the previous year, according to the audit. Nonoperating revenues totaled $509.6 million, led by county surcharges on the state general excise tax and transient accommodations tax, and included $52.4 million from an O‘ahu transient accommodations tax surcharge approved by the City Council in 2021. Federal Transit Administration grants added $250.2 million, and the city contributed $10 million in capital funding.
Long-term debt fell to $815.4 million from $934 million in fiscal year 2024. The bonds, issued by the city on HART’s behalf, account for about 75% of total liabilities and are scheduled to be fully retired by 2031.
Construction continued on the City Center Guideway Stations segment, extending from Middle Street to the Civic Center area, with utility relocation expected to finish by 2026.
Completed segments are transferred to the city’s Department of Transportation Services for operation and maintenance; in 2023, nearly $3 billion in capital assets were transferred for the first operating segment, Skyline.
Auditors reported that federal Buy America requirements and recent tariff impacts did not materially affect project costs and did not identify any conditions raising substantial doubt about HART’s ability to continue operating.
The total estimated cost of the Honolulu Rail Transit Project to date is approximately $10.08 billion, including $9.57 billion in capital costs and $508 million in financing charges, according to the City and County of Honolulu’s 2025 general obligation bond official statement.
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